Shippers and freight agents have expressed fear over imminent meltdown of the Nigerian economy over the widespread of the Coronavirus rocking the globe.
The virus which has also affected the exchange rate , sports, business and shipping could further cause mass-unemployment and break down of e-commerce if not effectively tackle globally.
The stakeholders said that most contracts on cargo transactions are currently under serious threats due to the virus.
Shippers who spoke under the aegis of Nigeria Association of Agriculture Product Dealers ( NAAPD) noted that the virus has affected maritime business in all ramifications.
While the freight agents noted that the dreaded disease has halted global trade and Nigeria is not an exception.
NAAPD President and the Chief Executive Officer , De-Potter Nigeria Limited, Prince Bakare Adeyinka said his company which is into export and logistics has being adversely affected as contract agreement are being halted.
According to him, the worst hit country, China where most of the imports into Nigeria emanates, is locked down economically and that no cargo goes in or come out.
Bakare said, “The virus is what is affecting every part of the world and being a freight forwarding and logistic company, it is also a global trade.
“There is a very sharp drop in cargo export from Nigeria, a lot of contracts that have been signed are being cancelled probably nobody to attend to them again.
“In Asia particularly China, a lot of businesses are not being attended to even a lot of cargoes in destination are not being attended to and the ones to be loaded here to such area are left unattended to.
“I pray that we are able to fund solution to this in time because what is going to be coming in the next three months will be worse because if nobody is moving any cargo now, in the next three months how expensive the little we have in the market will be.
Adeyinka therefore warned that if nothing is done fast enough, there may be another global meltdown even as he expressed fear that the rate of dollars is experiencing galloping increase.
“If nothing g is done now, there may be a global meltdown in the near future in terms of goods and services and availability of funds
“Up to forty percent of the business has been affected because personally, for the past two weeks now, we have not been loading and we have been doing nothing because majority of the contracts are being cancelled.
Also speaking, Hajia Bola Muse, CEO of Bomarah Group quipped that for the cargoes on transit, the country would have experienced a drought in cargo import.
Muse who is the Financial Secretary, Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA),admitted that trouble may arise if the disease is not nipped early enough before global trade is badly affected.
She noted that: “The consignment shipped one ir two months ago are just arriving but the fresh orders are the ones that might have issues.
“Market all over the world has dropped even in China, the market has dropped by 90 percent.
“If we are dancing that Coronavirus is not here in Africa but it is affecting us economically.