Grimaldi Vehicle Import to Nigeria Rises by 18,000 Units Monthly
Grimaldi Shipping, operators of the biggest Roll On-Roll off vehicle terminal; Ports and Terminal Multiservices Limited (PTML) in Apapa Lagos has been recording a steady increase in volume of vehicles coming into the terminal.
Terminal Manager of PTML Terminal, Mr Tunde Keshinro in an exclusive chat with DAILY TREND NEWS however disclosed that average vehicles and accidented vehicles accounts for a large number of the import, while exotic and new vehicles only come in trickles.
Apparently, the recorded increase has equally rubbed off on the Nigeria Customs Service at PTML Command as the spokesman of the command, Mr Yakubu Muhammed confirmed to DAILY TREND NEWS also that from January to September 2019, the Customs generated N116, 524,304,684.00 revenue.
Our correspondent gathered that PTML as a RoRo terminal also handles other containerized imports, but vehicle importation takes a dominant role in the container volume.
Other cargoes that is imported through the terminal includes; raw materials, finished goods, chemicals and others.
According to Mr. Keshinro “Whatever is coming into Nigeria can pass through the terminal, depending on the country of origin, as much as Nigeria is importing from where Grimaldi Shipping Line is operating; Europe, America, Mediterranean, South America and any other region on the Atlantic, as long as Grimaldi is operating there, the cargo can come to PTML Terminal”
“The volume of cargoes coming to PTML Terminal has been on the increase, even before the closure of the borders. Don’t forget that the border closure is now against all imports, whereas in 2017, the customs had closed down the borders against vehicles and this increased the number of vehicles being shipped to Lagos through PTML Terminal”
“This year has been very spectacular I must confess, since the beginning of the year, we are doing 18,000 units of vehicles per month, it has been in that increase mode. There are fluctuations in between the months”
“In August, September, there were also increases in line with the pattern that has been established since the beginning of the year. If you check the customs revenue profile, you can also see that they have been having increase in their revenue”
“There are times we go as high as 35% increase over the preceding month, there are times we record 25% increase, it keeps fluctuating but the imports are far higher than the corresponding months of last year” he said
