By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
Over 100 import duty exemption certificates, IDECs, have been signed by the Federal Government in the last three months.
Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Senator John Owan Enoh, stated this during a round table discussion with management of A.A Universal Beans and Company Limited, shortly after a facility tour by the minister to the Cocoa Processing Factory in Ikom yesterday in Cross River State.
He said, “Since I became minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, I have signed hundreds of approvals for import duties exemption certificates, IDECs.
“For company like yours that may want to import machinery for the purpose of their work, the ministry will grants you exemption. There are things you don’t pay. There are incentives in place. One of the agencies that is directly involved is under my mandate and it is the Bank of Industry.”
The minister averred that he just completed a tour of industries in the South-West geo-political zone of tbe country, stressing that to his greatest chagrin, he came by a lot of managing directors of manufacturing companies who applauded the Bank of Industry for the support rendered to them.
He urged the management of A.A Universal to do keep the cocoa processing factory running, stressing that the bank can replicate the assistance that it gave to factories in the South-West to cocoa processing factory in Ikom.
He added, “Let’s assume that this cocoa industry becomes fully operational, it means the cocoa that used to be taken out of Etung, Boki and Ikom would not be taken out in a manner that it’s being taken without value addition.
“I need to be sure that we have a factory in Ikom that is fully functional, an industry that have the capacity to absorb that cocoa that can no longer be taken out of Ikom.
“Those are the things we need to work towards. Within the Ministry of Trade and Investment, we talked about government support, of course there are incentives that government makes available.”
The minister urged the management of the Ikom cocoa processing factory to ensure that they have enough cocoa beans that can feed the factory when it becomes fully operational.
Speaking on making cocoa a revolution, chairman of AA Universal Bean and Company Limited, Chief Chris Agara, assured the minister of the firm’s readiness to meet up with the requirements that will ranked the factory according to internal standard.
The chairman averred that the firm has the capacity to provide 500 jobs to unemployed youths when it becomes fully operational, soliciting for support of government at all levels.
In his remark during a brainstorming session with the minister and his team at the conference hall of the cocoa orocessing factory, the Managing Director of the company assured that the factory’s willingness to abide by international best practices, where the right quality of cocoa beans will be processed and exported out of the country to attract foreign exchange.
He said, “We want to process our cocoa in Cross River State. We want to create an identity for our cocoa. This will help us to have a data for what Cross River produces. So that we can have the benefit of national and international patronage, a benefit which has eluded us as Crossriverians, because our cocoa is been transported to either Lagos, Owo and Ondo. We want to change this approach or methodology.
“We want to begin to buy cocoa pods from farms, remove child labour among others. Cocoa workers used in cracking pods are either women and children. Sometimes they are deprived from going to school.
“What we are going to do will impact on the farms. We are going to be taking cocoa pods from farmers. First we collect the cocoa pods from farmers. We assure the honorable minister that the farmers are going to get better than what they have been getting at a moment.”
