The Chief Executive Officer, CEO Centre for the Promotion of Public Enterprise, Dr. Muda Yusuf, has faulted the National Bureau of Statistic, NBS, for not reflecting the contribution of Marine and Blue Economy Sector (formerly maritime sector) in the economic data.
Describing it as a major omission and lamenting that the NBS only captures the water transport, Yusuf stated: “In GDP statistics, there is no maritime sector contribution there; what you have there is transport, and under transport you have road, air, water transport. Water transport cannot represent maritime sector, when you look at the contribution of the water transport it is so insignificant that you can know that not reflecting the contribution of maritime sector in the economic data is a major omission.”
He spoke in a keynote address at the third edition of the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria, MARAN, Breakfast Meeting, with the theme: “Trade Facilitation and President Tinubu’s Economic Agenda: Matters Arising.”
Yusuf said: “As a country we are yet to appreciate the full significance of trade and the international trade ecosystem as leverage for economic transformation. This is perhaps why trade issues have not attracted the level of attention commensurate to its contribution to the economy.
“The trade sector accounts for 16 percent of our GDP in 2023 which amounts to over N27 trillion, but this data reflects largely domestic trade – that is wholesale and retail trade. The contribution of international trade and the entire ecosystem is yet to be adequately captured in our GDP data.
“This is what the maritime sector or the blue economy represents. I am hoping that as the GDP is rebased, this grave shortcoming in our economic data will be corrected.
“What we have in the NBS data is water transport. But the maritime sector or blue economy is beyond just water transportation. Water transport for instance contributed a mere N12.6 billion in 2023, which was 0.01 percent of GDP. This certainly cannot be what the maritime sector contributed in the whole of 2023. And this has been the trend over the years.
“The maritime sector handles over 95 percent of our international merchandise trade. The value of trade in 2023 was N71.9 trillion in 2023, with import accounting for N36 trillion and export accounting for another N36 trillion”.
Peoplesmind
