The autonomous port of Cotonou lifts the ban on exports of goods to Niger. The general management of the port announced this in a letter dated Wednesday, December 27, 2023. However, unloaded containers will not be able to enter Niger through the borders of Benin, they still remain closed in application of ECOWAS economic sanctions.
1 min
With our correspondent in Cotonou, Jean-Luc Aplogan
This is not a lifting of ECOWAS economic sanctions : the Beninese authorities interviewed are clear.
Officially, the measure ban on exports to Niger, taken in October, was also clear: the containers were piling up at the port. Because despite ECOWAS sanctions, there were still orders for Niger: storage spaces were then congested by up to 90%, according to a port authority.
The port then undertook work to relieve congestion and claims to have freed up 30% of space today: it says it is able to once again authorize imports for Niger.
Goods for Niger represent 80% of the transit volume at the port of Cotonou.
At the start of the sanctions, certain importers, whose containers were blocked, released their goods for consumption in Benin. Others bypassed the Beninese borders via Burkina Faso.
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