Nigeria’s consumer protection agency probes high cost of shipping services
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) said it has begun investigations of shipping companies over the high cost of shipping products to Nigeria.
The Executive Vice Chairman of FCCPC, Babatunde Irukera, who stated this in Abuja at a media briefing, said the commission had already raided five shipping companies in the course of its investigations.
Irukera decried the outrageous price charged by shipping companies operating in the country, noting that their activities have resulted in an astronomical increase in the cost of products in the market.
He said, “We have opened large investigations into shipping companies. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, a container from China to Lagos was going for between $3,500 to $5,000. Gradually, the shipping of the same container went up to $14,000. By the time we intervened in the shipping industry, it came down to $10,500.”
He said while the outcome of the agency’s intervention was not the ultimate; it had brought about a “behavioral change”.
Irukera underscored the need for businesses to operate in a manner that is not exploitative, unreasonable, unjust, and unfair
Source: shipsandports.com.ng
