No fewer than ten Nigerian foods and goods are currently rejected abroad, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) revealed.

While delivering a speech at the 3rd CHINET Aviacargo conference during the weekend in Lagos, the Deputy Director, Export Division, Ports Inspection Directorate, NAFDAC, Sanwo-Olu O.A., revealed some of the commonly rejected export food commodities from Nigeria from 2018 till date and in the top 10 include sesame, beans, melon seeds, peanut and smoked fish/fish meal, ginger, spices paper, hibiscus flower, palm oil and ogbono.

According to her, the goods are rejected abroad due to non-adherence to standardised clearance procedures by stakeholders.

In the speech titled “Unlocking the Logistics Barrier to Improving Agro Exports Products,” Sanwo-Olu blamed the rejection on non-adherence to set standards by freight forwarders, cargo handlers, airlines/carriers, and regulatory agencies, as well as poor inter-agency collaboration amongst others.

The NAFDAC official, hence, called for collaboration among stakeholders to ensure that export trade meets the requirements of the country’s trading partner in terms of quality, standards and quantity as trade increases.