THE NATION FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2012
13
BUSINESS NEWS
Customs records N52b in Tin Can
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IGERIAN Customs Service, Tin-Can Is land Ports Command, recorded N52.8 billion as revenue in the first quarter of the year, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Chris Osunkwo, has said. Osunkwo, said the amount is N10.09 billion over its revenue collections in the corresponding period of 2011. The Commands spokesman, told The Nation, that the Tin Can Command is the second most lucrative point in the country, saying it has recorded N14.5 billion in January 2012, representing six per cent, as against the N13.6 billion it recorded in the same month in 2011. Furthermore, he said in February, the Command’s
• Non- oil exports decline by 64,959 MT By Uyoatta Eshiet
performance rose by 53 per cent, as the actual revenue generated stood at N19.2 billion compared with N12.5 billion it made in the same month in 2011. He said in March, the Command garnered N19.03 billion, as against the N16.5 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2011. The Command’s revenue grew by 15 per cent, he stated. The Spokesperson said the new target for year 2012 set for Tin-Can by Customs High Command is N264 billion which translates to N22 billion a month, as against the N15 billion monthly set
for it last year. He said the unit recorded N193 billion as total revenue in the preceding year, indicating an increase of N13 billion over the set target of N180 billion. By this first quarter result, the Command recorded a short fall of about N13 billion from its set target. However, Osunkwo assured that the target would be met, saying there is no cause for alarm. “The target though high, is realizable,” he stated. Export data for the past three years exclusively obtained by The Nation, showed that non oil exports in the three years from 2009 – 2011 have been
on the decline. Total export declined by 64,959.479 metric tonnes. A breakdown of the data showed that between January 2009 and December of the same year, the total export of non-oil products that passed through Tin Can Port stood at 234,495.739 metric tonnes valued at N77.659 billion, while in 2010, the total tonnage reduced to 223,947.33 metric tonnes valued at N107.380 billion. In 2011 the total tonnage, declined to 169,536.26 metric tonnes valued at N101.159 billion. Within a period of three years, 2009 to 2011, the total tonnage of non-oil exports that passed through Tin-Can Ports declined by 64,959.479 metric tonnes.
‘OPEC crude shipments surge most since 2008’
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HE Organization of Pe troleum Exporting Countries will boost oil shipments this month by the most since at least 2008 as Asian refiners build stockpiles, according to tanker-tracker Oil Movements. OPEC will export 24.32 million barrels a day in the four weeks to April 28, an increase of 5.2 percent on the 23.12 million a day that was scheduled for shipment in the period to March 31, the researcher said in an e-mailed report today. The data exclude Angola and Ecuador. “It’s unnaturally high for the time of year,” Roy Mason, the company’s founder, said by telephone from Halifax inEngland. “It’s been driven by the east. It’s coming from the Gulf and could be stock-build-
ing in advance of the completion of refinery maintenance in the east.” OPEC raised forecasts for supplies from outside the group today, echoing an assessment by the International Energy Agencythat oil markets are adequately supplied. Brent crude futures have climbed 12 percent this year, trading at $120 a barrel today in London, amid concern that a tougher embargo imposed onIran in the middle of this year will cut supply and stoke political tension in the Middle East. Crude on board tankers will average 512.94 million barrels in the four weeks, up 9.7 percent from the month to March 31, Oil Movements said. That is the most since December 2000.