According to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), punishment for exporters of subpar goods will be reviewed.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the director-general of NAFDAC, revealed this while lamenting the extent to which inferior items were being rejected in some foreign nations.

She claimed that the organization had been able to pinpoint a few of the causes, including a lack of adherence to the NAFDAC-established advising standards intended to promote participation exporting.

According to Adeyeye, practically all exported food items go through processing without going through the required NAFDAC testing.

She claims that some of the products are rejected because they were shipped without passing NAFDAC quality control and safety inspections.

Other factors included NAFDAC's failure to use previously free laboratory testing for export samples, as well as their complicity with dishonest agents.

It was also noted that the National Export Supervision Scheme (NESS), which is run by Pre-shipment Inspection Agents (PIAs) nominated by the Federal Government, does not require NAFDAC to check its regulated products prior to export.

According to Adeyeye, several exporters refused to follow the minimal sanitary and phytosanitary regulations necessary for exports to nations with strict market access requirements, and some producers' packaging was subpar.

She observed that many exporters had grown accustomed to ignoring the import regulations of business partners.

Additionally, she cited "a propensity for sourcing from open markets for exports without any kind of minimal safety or quality specifications and a reluctance to invest in pre-export activities that help to ensure sustainable export."

The head of NAFDAC announced that the agency would begin six regulatory actions to handle the problem in order to ratify all these challenges as part of the outcome of its recent meeting with the UK Food Standard Agency (FSA).

NAFDAC Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Good Hygienic Practices (GHP), and Laboratory testings such as mycotoxin, pesticide residue, and heavy metals certification for regulated food and drug goods were among the urgent items she highlighted for inclusion and execution.

She stated that some of these products would also be subject to the National Export Supervision Scheme (NESS), which is run by Pre-shipment Inspection Agents (PIAs), who are employed by the Federal Government.

She also suggested engaging with the Comptroller General of Customs as the new administrator of the Nigeria Single Window Trade portal and include NAFDAC in the processing of export proceed (NXP) forms by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

She stated that NAFDAC has already discussed this issue with CBN's Trade and Exchange Division and the Federal Ministry of Finance's Home Finance.

She stated that with the establishment of NAFDAC Regulations on Export 2022, the agency will also be bolstering in-country regulatory infrastructures on export.

Adeyeye revealed that the legislation was already posted on the NAFDAC website and that an electronic copy had been distributed to professional bodies, trade associations, and exporters for their suggestions and comments throughout the course of the following 60 days, starting on October 11.

In relation to the regulation of commodities, she added that the agency would also work with the Nigerian Exports Promotion Council (NEPC).

She claims that the organization would continue to have meetings with export trade operators to educate them about NAFDAC requirements for regulated products.