CALCIMA pleadges support to Ministry of Commerce in trade relations –

Honourable Commissioner for Commerce Pst. Mrs RoseMary Archibong, flanked by the Commissioner for Industries,  Mr. Peter Egba

In a joint session between the Cross River State Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Industries and the Calabar Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture – CALCIMA group, which held today in Calabar, the group expressed optimism and pleadges their unalloyed readiness to partner and support the innovative drive of the Gov Ben Ayade led administration which according to them would further boomerang positively in the economy of the State. 

In the remarks of the Honourable Commissioner for Commerce Pastor Mrs RoseMary Archibong, she enjoined the group to keep up the pace in service delivery and promised to solidify the already established relation between the group and government in building a business favourable spheres in the State and trade relations.
“I am not new in the business of marketing. I have been marketing the image of Cross River State as Commissioner for information and now in the wisdom of His Excellency Gov Ben Ayade, he has given me another responsibility to market the Goods and Services of the State, hence my appointment as Commissioner for Commerce. We must work together”, she said.
Mrs Archibong elaborated the great strides of the administration and the many more ingeneous plans yet unfold.
“With the huge commercial activities that is about to commence from not just the 33 factories and the deep seaport but the Obudu cargo airport with its great component, we should be prepared” – Mrs Archibong tasked the group.

Outlining it’s front burner achievements sacrosanct with the State, the group noted that there has been a geometric progession recorded thus far and by National Bureau of Statistics, the State’s GDP grew from N963million as at 2013 to N2.3trillion in 2017.
The Executive Secretary of CALCIMA group, Mr Kenneth Asim Ita, while making his presentation noted that Calabar Port has the capacity to stir a “trans-continental marinal disruption” because of the many advantages it has over Lagos port in Nigeria and West of Africa.

“We have identified Calabar port to be a hub, not just for the Eastern flank, the North East, North Central but the landlocked countries like Niger and Chad Republic”
“Repositioning the Calabar port will not just serve the State but the businesses that operate within and around the catchment region of the State”
“When we did our survey in 2018, we found out that the literacy rate of Cross River State benches at 83%, the highest in the Nation”, Asim states while noting that with that literacy rate, the potential to break even in the comity of States is very high with other factors like Agriculture, Solid Mineral and arable land size in play.

In the remark of the Honourable Commissioner for Industry Mr. Peter Egba, observed that His Excellency the Governor is excited about the readiness of CALCIMA to partner in the operations and commercial activities of government.