By: Kanto
Kai Okanta
Nigeria has reduced the
processing time for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)
Certificate of Origin from more than five days to 24 hours following the
digitalisation of the registration, verification and certification process.
The development was
announced by Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke
Oduwole, during the third-quarter meeting of the AfCFTA Central Coordination
Committee in Abuja.
The reduction in processing
time is expected to make it easier for Nigerian exporters to obtain the
documentation required to claim preferential treatment under the AfCFTA
Agreement.
The AfCFTA Agreement creates
preferential trading terms for eligible goods, while the Certificate of Origin
enables an exporter to claim those preferences. The time required to obtain the
certificate can therefore have a direct bearing on the ability of businesses to
complete cross-border transactions within commercial timelines.
Oduwole illustrated the
importance of faster processing by citing the case of a Nigerian fashion
business that secured an order for 6,000 T-shirts during a trade mission to
Botswana.
For businesses handling such
orders, the Minister noted, the administrative process becomes part of the
commercial timeline, making efficient certification important to the execution
of cross-border trade.
The digitalisation of the
registration, verification and certification process represents a practical
step towards simplifying the procedures exporters must follow to access
opportunities created by the continental trade agreement.
