The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has disclosed a troubling trend regarding Nigeria's food exports. According to the agency's Director-General, Mojisola Adeyeye, who made the revelation at the official commissioning ceremony of the new NAFDAC office complex at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, a significant majority of food products exported from Nigeria face rejection upon arrival in foreign countries. This alarming rate of rejection not only inflicts severe financial losses upon the exporters themselves but also has adverse implications for the nation's economy as a whole.
Adeyeye highlighted, "Over 70 per cent of the products that leave our ports get rejected. Considering the money spent on getting those products out of the country, it is a double loss for both the exporter and the country." The Director-General emphasized that this distressing trend could be rectified by reinforcing the collaboration between NAFDAC and other government agencies operating at the ports.
Furthermore, Adeyeye expressed the need to enhance the safeguarding measures for imported foods in Nigeria, which will be accomplished through the strengthened collaboration among relevant government bodies. By addressing the issues that lead to the rejection of Nigerian food exports and bolstering the regulatory processes, the nation can work towards reducing financial losses and ensuring the acceptance of its exported food products in foreign markets.
