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The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Centre for the Promotion of Public Enterprise, Dr. Muda Yusuf, has criticised the National Bureau of Statistic (NBS) for not including the contribution of the Marine and Blue Economy Sector in the economic data.
He emphasised that the NBS only considered water transport and failed to accurately represent the maritime sector's contribution to the economy.
Speaking at the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN) Breakfast Meeting, he highlighted the significance of trade in economic transformation and expressed hope that the GDP data would be revised to accurately reflect the contribution of the maritime sector and the blue economy.
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 per cent 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 per cent 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 per cent 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.”
