The number of vehicles imported into the country fell sharply by 60.4 per cent, year-on-year, YoY, to 10,991 in the first half of this year, H1’24, reflecting the impact of the naira depreciation and general economic downturn.
This was contained in the report of the just concluded quarterly meeting of the Nigerian Port Consultative Council (NPCC).
The report stated: “Vehicle Traffic shows a total 10,991 units of vehicles was handled during the period under review, indicating a drop of 60.8 per cent from 28,024 units in 2023.”
Following the same trend, the number of ships calling at the nation’s seaports fell by 4.3 percent, YoY, to 251 in H1’24 from 275 in H1’23. But despite the drop in vessel calls, the Gross Tonnage of ships rose 6.9 per cent to 32.614 million metric tons in H1’24 from 30,504 276 in H1’23.
The report added: “The cargo throughput, excluding crude oil, stood at 21.186 million metric tons against 18.234 million metric tons in 2023, indicating an increase of 16.1 per cent.
“Inward cargo traffic reached 13.563 million metric tons, representing 10.5 percent of cargo throughput in 2023. Outward cargo traffic was 7.6234 million metric tons, representing 27.7 per cent.”
