Mrs. Adaku Chidume-Okoro, Group Managing Director of Gum Arabic Company Nigeria Ltd. (GACON), has praised the Federal Government for its efforts in sustaining and promoting the non-oil sector by providing tax exemptions and expansion grants.
This statement was made during the celebration of GACON’s 25th anniversary in Lagos.
Chidume-Okoro highlighted that the government has consistently offered incentives such as tax breaks and expansion grants to non-oil exporters over the years.
She lauded these measures as commendable and urged the government to further enhance this support in the future.
“The government recognizes that the non-oil export sector is vital for sustaining the economy, which is why it has been supportive of the industry,” she stated.
The government has made significant efforts to support non-oil exporters by providing incentives that encourage increased shipments.
“All our export proceeds are exempt from taxes, and there is also a government expansion grant. This grant pays us a certain percentage of our annual turnover as an incentive to invest more in the sector. The more we export, the better the balance of trade,” she stated.
She mentioned that the primary challenge facing non-oil exporters is poor road infrastructure, leading to delays in the timely delivery of goods.
Chidume-Okoro highlighted the importance of ongoing government support to foster the growth and resilience of the non-oil sector.
She urged prospective exporters to stay focused, consistent, and steadfast despite challenges to achieve significant success in non-oil exports.
In 2010, Chidume-Okoro received the Nigerian Presidential Award as “Woman Exporter of the Year 2010” for Non-oil Exports.
Chidume-Okoro noted that GACON specializes in exporting a variety of agricultural commodities, herbs, and botanicals.
The company’s flagship products are fresh ginger, dried split ginger, dried split turmeric, dried hibiscus flower, gum arabic of all grades, hot chili pepper, cassia tora seeds, dried kolanuts, and prosopis juliflora.
