Nigeria has been categorised among the lowest ranking
countries with 2.63 score in the latest trade logistic performance index
ranking released by the World Bank.
The nation was ranked the 90th position among the 160
countries watched while Germany is the top performer for the third time and
Syria ranked lowest.
World Bank noted that progress in logistics performance has
slowed for the first time since 2007 for the world’s least developed economies,
while emerging economies that implement comprehensive initiatives continue to
improve their performance.
Senior Director for the World Bank Group’s Trade and
Competitiveness Global Practice, Anabel Gonzalez, said: “Logistics performance
both in international trade and domestically is central to countries’ economic
growth and competitiveness.
“Efficient logistics connects people and firms to markets and
opportunities, and helps achieve higher levels of productivity and welfare.
Unfortunately, the logistics performance gap between rich and poor countries
continues and the convergence trend experienced between 2007 and 2014 has
reversed for the least performing countries,” he said.
However, countries like Kenya, India and China, all improved
their previous performance according to the report, which is based on survey
data from more than 1,200 logistics professionals.
The report ranks countries on a number of dimensions of
supply chain performance, including infrastructure, quality of service,
shipment reliability, and border clearance efficiency.
The World Bank emphasized the need for the logistics industry
and the public sector to address major challenges such as raising skills and
competency levels, and adapting to slower trade growth.
Besides, it noted that managing the footprint and the
sustainability of supply chain should also be a high priority now.
According to the report, “Western and Central Africa shows
lower performance than Southern Africa or than East Africa, which has engaged
in significant improvement in trade corridor efficiency. North African and
Middle Eastern developing countries are doing comparatively worse than their
income level would indicate, due to lack of integration, political unrest, and
security challenges,”
Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice at the World Bank
Group and co-author of the report, Jean-Francois Arvis, said: “Logistics
performance is about achieving reliability of supply chains linking economies
to markets. In the most constrained countries the needs focus on
infrastructure, or critical improvements in customs and border management.
“More logistically performing countries have to address
complex sets of issues centered on the development and quality of services. And
all top performers show strong cooperation between the public and private
sectors in developing a comprehensive approach to efficient logistics.”
On the border management side, customs agencies got better
ratings than all other agencies involved in the process, with those responsible
for sanitary and phytosanitary regulations lagging behind.
The logistics agenda has shifted in priorities over the last
10 years, especially as slower trade growth puts pressure on the logistics
industry to re-organize its networks and innovate.
Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice at the World Bank
Group and co-author of the report, Daniel Saslavsky, said: “This year’s LPI
continues to show the complexity of the reforms and the different priorities
depending on a country’s logistics performance,”
“Logistics policies are now not only limited to
transportation or trade facilitation. They are part of a broader agenda that
also includes services, development of facilities, infrastructure and spatial
planning.”
According to the report, some causes of underperformance are
endogenous to a country’s supply chain: the quality of service and the costs
and speed of clearance processes are examples.
The apex bank also noted that other causes, such as
dependence on indirect maritime routes, lie outside the domestic supply chain
and are not under a country’s control.
The LPI details possible causes of delay that are not
directly related to how domestic services and agencies perform, adding that
there was a striking contrast between the top and bottom LPI quintile
countries. This contrast is especially large in three areas: informal (corrupt)
payments, compulsory warehousing, and pre-shipment inspection.
Credit:FT/Guardian
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