By Ani Bassey, Calabar
As part of the drive to boost the Agro sector of the national economy and shore up foreign trade, about 7,000 MT of Cocoa beans will be exported to the United States from Calabar Port.

The cocoa beans which are sourced 100 per cent from Ikom in Cross River State marks the turning point in non-oil trade in the state and were loaded at the ECM terminal in Calabar.

Adeyemi Adeniji, the Managing Director of Starlink Global & Ideal Limited, the Nigerian export company which sourced the cocoa beans stated that that history was being made with the direct shipment of non-oil product from the Calabar seaport to the United States of America.

“In our search for a solution to different dimensional problems facing export in Nigeria, we opened a direct export from Calabar to the United States of America using a chartered vessel.

“As a proud Nigerian company, our reserve is to elevate Nigeria’s name internationally by doing all we can to prove that we are resilient, resourceful, innovative and forward looking,” he said.

He explained that the cost of shipping from Calabar is higher as his company is spending $200,000 for the safe passage of the chartered vessel and it will take 17 days for the vessel to berth in the US.

Flagging-off the loading of the vessel in Calabar, Hadiza Bala Usman, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), described the development as a sign of better things for the nation.

Usman, who was speaking through Marie Asan, the Port Manager of the NPA Calabar, said “the Executive Management of NPA is pleased as it shows that the strategic measures put in place to make all the nation’s seaports viable and vibrant are beginning to produce positive outcomes.

“We have brought modest milestones to Calabar Port in the areas of wreck removals, stimulation of container traffic, attraction of flat-bottom vessel traffic, restoration of broken down crafts and more,” she said.

In a remark, Governor Ben Ayade lauded the Nigerian shipping company for choosing to convey its cargo via the Calabar Port, saying that it was a plus to the ECM Terminal and Cross River State to have a vessel departing to the USA.

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Ayade represented by the Commissioner for Commerce, Mrs. Rosemary Archibong, urged the Nigerian Government to implement the agreement reached with the concessionaires on dredging of the Calabar Seaport.

Edward Akpan, the Manager ECM Terminal urged the Nigerian Government to address critical challenges at the Calabar Port since the tackling congestion of the port in Apapa, Lagos State, was critical.

He further called for the reintroduction of the rebate regime to attract other shippers and integrating the Calabar seaport to the national rail link to further enhance access.