The Shipping Association of Nigeria (SAN) has defended recent tariff adjustments by shipping agencies, saying it was done in line with prevailing economic realities, including inflation and foreign exchange volatility.
SAN Chairperson, Mrs Boma Alabi, gave the clarification in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Wednesday, in reaction to concerns raised by the NAGAFF Trade War Advocacy Committee over the approval of new port charges across Nigeria’s maritime sector.
Alabi described the process as thorough, transparent, and guided by regulatory oversight, adding that the association considered some of the claims against the tariff adjustments to be inaccurate and misleading.
She explained that the approval was granted by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council in line with its statutory regulatory mandate and that the tariff review process lasted nearly two years, involving extensive scrutiny and consultations with key industry stakeholders.
The SAN chairperson also noted that shipping companies submitted detailed cost analyses to justify the proposed adjustments and the submissions were evaluated against prevailing economic realities, including inflation and foreign exchange volatility.
She further clarified that the approval was not applied uniformly across all shipping operators, adding that the tariff increase is modest and remains below the cumulative inflation rate over the review period.
Alabi added that the adjustment was necessary to address rising operational and logistics costs within the industry.
