For the first time in about 14 years, Nigeria has shipped 7,000 metric tonnes of cocoa through the Calabar Port in Cross River State to the United States of America (U.S.A.).

Starlink Global and Ideal Limited transported the 7,000 tonnes of cocoa through the Ecomarine Terminals in Calabar Port.

Draft limitations had challenged the Calabar Port for over 14 years after its concession, but the Ecomarine Terminals Limited had shipped the maiden export of cocoa beans from the seaport.

Speaking at the load-out ceremony in Calabar, Governor Benedict Ayade said the state was rich in agricultural resources, urging the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) to expedite action on the dredging of Calabar channels in other to aid increase in exports.

Ayade, who was represented by the Commissioner for Commerce, Mrs. Rosemary Archibong, said: “It’s time for us not only to export raw materials but also processed goods and urged the people to exploit opportunities that cash crops present in the state.

He assured that the waterways were constantly under surveillance, hence the adequate security in the state.

Managing Director of NPA, Hadiza Bala Usman, said the authority was pursuing Federal Government’s economic recovery agenda through consistent improvement on service delivery at the nation’s seaports, especially the eastern ports.

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday that it has set a goal to vastly expand the nation’s offshore wind energy capacity in the coming decade by opening new areas to development, speeding environmental permitting, and boosting public financing for projects.

The plan is part of Biden’s broader effort to rapidly transition the U.S. economy to net zero greenhouse gas emissions to fight climate change, a politically controversial agenda that Republicans say could bring economic ruin but which Democrats say can create jobs while protecting the environment.

“President Biden believes we have an enormous opportunity in front of us to not only address the threats of climate change, but use it as a chance to create millions of good-paying, union jobs,” National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy said in announcing the plan. “Nowhere is the scale of that opportunity clearer than for offshore wind.”

The plan sets a target to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030, which the administration said would be enough to power 10 million homes and cut 78 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, while creating jobs in construction, development, and steel-making.

As investors focus on the economic recovery, while oil prices dropped on news that a cargo ship blocking the Suez Canal had been refloated, Asian markets mostly rose Monday, extending last week’s positive finish and tracking a record-breaking lead from Wall Street.

Egypt’s Suez Canal resumed Monday after a giant container ship which had been blocking the busy waterway for almost a week was refloated.

The 400-metre long Ever Given became jammed diagonally across a southern section of the canal in high winds early last Tuesday, halting traffic on the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

A below-forecast reading on US prices on Friday provided support as it eased fears that inflation caused by an expected strong global rebound will force central banks to wind back their ultra-loose monetary policies or hike interest rates.

The week ahead will provide plenty for traders to get their teeth into including the release of key US jobs data for March and figures on manufacturing activity around the world.

US President Joe Biden is also tipped to soon unveil the next leg of his economic recovery plan targeting infrastructure, which some suggest could come in around $3 trillion. That comes just as his recently passed $1.9 trillion stimulus begins to kick in.

Nigerian states and federal debt stock as of December 31, 2020 stood at N32.92 trillion, the National Bureau of Statistics has said.

The bureau, in its Nigerian domestic and foreign debt Q4 2020 report released Monday, said Nigeria’s total public debt portfolio showed that N12.71 trillion or 38.60 per cent of the debt was external while N20.21 trillion or 61.40 per cent of the debt was domestic.

The NBS gave further disaggregation of Nigeria’s foreign debt to include $17.93 billion of the debt as multilateral; $4.06 billion as bilateral from the AFD, Exim Bank of China, JICA, India, and KFW while $11.17 billion was commercial which are Eurobonds and Diaspora Bonds and $186.70 million as promissory notes.

Details of the debt figures show that the domestic debt figures of the 36 states of the federation and the FCT were put at N4.19 trillion with Lagos accounting the highest.

The report said the total states and FCT domestic debt was put at N4.19 trillion with Lagos State accounting for 12.15 per cent of the debt stock while Jigawa State has the least debt stock in this category with a contribution of 0.74 per cent, it said.