Post by Trade facilitator on Jun 7, 2012 20:59:06 GMT 1
President Goodluck Jonathan disclosed, yesterday, that the Federal Government has secured markets for cassava outside the country, where one million metric tons of dried cassava chips will be exported to China, which will attract about N214 billion ($136 million) this year.
Jonathan, who disclosed this in his Democracy Day speech to mark a year in office, said he has also banned the serving of non-Nigerian dishes at all national functions henceforth to encourage the consumption of local staple food.
He explained that his administration had revived, and now accelerating the completion of the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs), adding that government is also building about 4000km of transmission lines and hundreds of substations, and has completed the design for the construction of both Mambilla and Zungeru Hydro power plants, which will add about 3,000 megawatts to the national grid.
He hinted that the country had made progress, but can still do more, with an assurance of doing so. The President also said the country’s economy is doing well, noting that the economic outlook is positive.
According to him: “Today, progress has been made. The country’s credit rating is positive, in contrast with many nations being downgraded. In 2011, our economy grew by 7.45 per cent. As at mid-May 2012, our foreign exchange reserves had risen to $37.02 billion, the highest level in 21 months.
We have stabilized and improved our fiscal regime. We brought the fiscal deficit down to 2.85 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 2.9 per cent in 2011. We reduced recurrent expenditures from 74 per cent to 71 per cent and reduced domestic borrowing from N852 billion in 2011 to N744 billion in 2012. We cut out over N100 billion of non-essential expenditure and increased our internally generated revenue from N200 billion to N467 billion.”
For the first time in over a decade, he said Nigeria now have a draft Trade Policy, which provides a multi-dimensional framework to boost its trade regime and facilitate the inflow of investments. He added: “We have generated over N6.6 trillion worth of investment commitments.
The total value of our trade is also much higher than the value estimated the previous year due to deliberate government policies. To facilitate the ease of doing business in Nigeria, we have a policy in place to make visa procurement easier for foreign investors, with safeguards to prevent abuse.”
Said he: “The goal of our administration is to ensure that every Nigerian can find gainful employment. Given my dissatisfaction with the prevailing unemployment situation in the country, our administration has embarked on an ambitious strategy of creating jobs and job-creators through the launch of several initiatives mainly targeted at the youths and women.”
On the international scene, he said: “Our successful elections, last year, opened new vistas for Nigeria’s foreign policy. More than ever before, Nigeria’s achievements have generated a lot of international goodwill and recognition. We have continued to build on this by further showing leadership in the sub-region and the African continent. Under my watch as Chairman of the sub-regional body, ECOWAS, and subsequently, Nigeria was in the forefront of the efforts to ensure democratic stability in Niger, Mali, Guinea Bissau, and particularly at a critical moment in Cote d’Ivoire.
Source: www.sunnewsonline.com/business-news/article/nigeria-earn-n214bn-cassava-chips-export
Learn more about cassava local utilization & export @ cassavaexport.tripod.com
Jonathan, who disclosed this in his Democracy Day speech to mark a year in office, said he has also banned the serving of non-Nigerian dishes at all national functions henceforth to encourage the consumption of local staple food.
He explained that his administration had revived, and now accelerating the completion of the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs), adding that government is also building about 4000km of transmission lines and hundreds of substations, and has completed the design for the construction of both Mambilla and Zungeru Hydro power plants, which will add about 3,000 megawatts to the national grid.
He hinted that the country had made progress, but can still do more, with an assurance of doing so. The President also said the country’s economy is doing well, noting that the economic outlook is positive.
According to him: “Today, progress has been made. The country’s credit rating is positive, in contrast with many nations being downgraded. In 2011, our economy grew by 7.45 per cent. As at mid-May 2012, our foreign exchange reserves had risen to $37.02 billion, the highest level in 21 months.
We have stabilized and improved our fiscal regime. We brought the fiscal deficit down to 2.85 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 2.9 per cent in 2011. We reduced recurrent expenditures from 74 per cent to 71 per cent and reduced domestic borrowing from N852 billion in 2011 to N744 billion in 2012. We cut out over N100 billion of non-essential expenditure and increased our internally generated revenue from N200 billion to N467 billion.”
For the first time in over a decade, he said Nigeria now have a draft Trade Policy, which provides a multi-dimensional framework to boost its trade regime and facilitate the inflow of investments. He added: “We have generated over N6.6 trillion worth of investment commitments.
The total value of our trade is also much higher than the value estimated the previous year due to deliberate government policies. To facilitate the ease of doing business in Nigeria, we have a policy in place to make visa procurement easier for foreign investors, with safeguards to prevent abuse.”
Said he: “The goal of our administration is to ensure that every Nigerian can find gainful employment. Given my dissatisfaction with the prevailing unemployment situation in the country, our administration has embarked on an ambitious strategy of creating jobs and job-creators through the launch of several initiatives mainly targeted at the youths and women.”
On the international scene, he said: “Our successful elections, last year, opened new vistas for Nigeria’s foreign policy. More than ever before, Nigeria’s achievements have generated a lot of international goodwill and recognition. We have continued to build on this by further showing leadership in the sub-region and the African continent. Under my watch as Chairman of the sub-regional body, ECOWAS, and subsequently, Nigeria was in the forefront of the efforts to ensure democratic stability in Niger, Mali, Guinea Bissau, and particularly at a critical moment in Cote d’Ivoire.
Source: www.sunnewsonline.com/business-news/article/nigeria-earn-n214bn-cassava-chips-export
Learn more about cassava local utilization & export @ cassavaexport.tripod.com
