The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Ondo/Ekiti Area command, has boasted that it supervised a massive increase in the exportation of cocoa beans in line with the federal government’s effort to diversify the economy through non-oil exports.
This was disclosed by the Area Controller, Comptroller Uche Ngozi, noting that statistics from the export unit reveal that a total of 3,991 containers of cocoa were exported between January and December, 2021, indicating a 25.8 percent increment, when compared to the 3,172 containers of cocoa exported in 2020 during the same period.
Cocoa was a major foreign exchange earner for Nigeria in the 1950s and 1960s, leading to the country’s pronouncement as the second largest producer in the world in the 1970s.
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Unfortunately, the boom in the oil sector in the 1970s and 1980s caused the country to face several economic problems, including a serious deteriorating external debt situation and a decline in the agricultural sector that pushed the country to the current fourth largest producer in the world.
Ngozi opined that efforts of the officers of the command under her leadership also led to the generation of N149,217,877 between the months of January and December 2021, adding that the amount had been remitted to the federation and non-federation accounts of the federal government accordingly.
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“The command’s revenue profile showed a remarkable increase of 85 percent as against the revenue target of N80,428,889.7 allotted to the command. The command is determined to surpass the revenue target of 2022 by God’s grace,” she said.
She attributed the achievement to the doggedness of the command’s officials, including their tireless commitment to their areas of responsibilities and a robust cordial working relationship with all the security agencies in Ondo and Ekiti States.
