The Premier Stockfish Importers Association of Nigeria asserts that given the ongoing prohibition on stockfish from accessing foreign exchange, the future of the stockfish industry is likely to remain bleak.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, this was said in an interview on Thursday in Lagos by the association’s chairman, Mr. Gregory Ilobinso.
Stockfish, as well as Pelagic fish, were among the 44 goods the Central Bank of Nigeria classified as ineligible for the foreign exchange window.
Ilobinso predicted that the continued restriction would make the stockfish trade in Nigeria look grim.
“Due to their incapacity to deal with the lack of foreign exchange, a large number of stockfish importers and traders have gone out of business.
“The stockfish sector is hopeful that the new administration will favor the product and remove it from the list of commodities with restricted access to foreign exchange.
“We are not giving up because hope is the only thing keeping us afloat in the industry right now. Despite the expensive cost of forex, we can hardly break even.”
He noted that some stockfish exporters occasionally provide importers foreign currency so they may conduct business, but the connection is founded on a long-term one.
Ilobinso cited the Norwegian Seafood Council as an example. “For instance, the Norwegian Seafood Council plays a crucial role in interacting with stockfish traders to set the price to accommodate our Forex ban problems.”
He emphasized once more, however, that stockfish had a special place in Nigerian cuisine and posed no threat to the local aquaculture industry.
“No local fish or even the meat in the soup compete with stockfish. It is in a distinctive position of its own.
“For this reason, it improves the flavor of soups and certain of our regional specialties, but we are pretending to be unaware of how significant this is.
“So, we are just pleading with the government to exercise kindness in the administration of justice and lift the forex ban on stockfish.
“We plead with the government to remove the product from the list of foreign exchange restrictions in order to save numerous jobs throughout the sector’s value chain,” he said.
