An international trade expert, Adekunle Ayoola has pleaded with the federal government to as a matter of urgency establish a strong bilateral trade agreement with Poland saying that such concerted efforts would undoubtedly open floodgates of economic prosperity for the two countries.
Ayoola, the Chief Executive Officer of International Afryka Shop, a branch of Afro Euro Investment, Poland made this appeal while speaking at the sidelines of the ongoing 5th Nigeria Diaspora Investment Summit, Abuja.
The Ogun State born entrepreneur explained that there is no laying emphasis on the fact that the lack of strong bilateral trade agreement between Nigeria and Poland is creating so much hurdle for many Nigerians who want to enhance the country’s economic prosperity by doing business with Poland
He said “for instance, I run a registered business that has been in operation for over 18 years in Warsaw, Poland. It has a team of good-spirited Nigerians based in Poland. We sell foods such as rice, beans, gari, yam, plantains, palm oil, coconut oil, dried, smoked, or frozen seafood among others
“Currently, our products come in via suppliers and third parties who source volumes of products from Africa; we are however unable to source products directly from Nigeria due to compliance issues and the fact that there is no strong bilateral trade agreement between Nigeria and Poland
“We also face challenges such as product inconsistency, availability, additional costs due to sourcing from third parties, and transportation from Holland, Ireland, U.K, and Germany which is quite a distance from Poland.
“The federal government must therefore as a matter of urgency rise to this occasion and establish a very strong bilateral trade agreement between Nigeria and Poland. This will engender a very seamless and fruitful business operation between the two countries, and over time it will translate to more foreign inflow for the country among others”.
