Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CCI GiessenFreidberg, Dr Matthias Leder, has called on the Federal Government to improve foreign trade balance between Nigeria and Germany.

Leder said this on Wednesday at the opening of the 14th Gateway International Trade Fair in Abeokuta. According to the envoy, the trade volume between both countries is still under one per cent.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Gateway International Trade Fair, with the theme: “Promoting Businesses Through Partnership”, was held between Feb. 7 and Feb. 10.

Leder stated that the balance of trade between Germany and Africa, particularly Nigeria, compared to Brazil and Republic of China, was ‘very uneven’.

He further said that the volume of international trade with Africa was two per cent, out of which Nigeria was less than one per cent.

The envoy, who said that Germany trades more with Brazil and China, urged both countries to intensify efforts to improve the situation for the benefit the two countries.

He observed that international trade was a cornerstone of prosperity and development, hence Germany’s commitment to changing the narrative of the imbalance that Nigeria was having with it.

Leder added that China’s investment in the last 20 years in Africa was much more than that of Europe, as the country invested in infrastructure, rail, ports, telecommunications and others.

He said that his country would work to bridge the gap in the balance of trade with Nigeria, the most populous black nation in the world.

He, however, identified low labour productivity, high capital interest, innovation and illegal immigration as some of the factors undermining international trade between Nigeria and Germany.

“To change the narrative of the trade imbalance that Nigeria is having with Germany, you can improve the productivity of labour, improve the productivity of capital and innovation,” he said.

Leder cited a newly-set up project called dual vocation training, which, He said, was meant to improve the factor of labour.