A REPORT OF THE FIELD TRIP WE WENT AT CALABAR FREE TRADE ZONE ON THURSDAY 5TH JULY 2018

During the hours of about 9:41 in the morning of Thursday 5th July 2018, we left the school (College of Education Afaha Nsit) and travel a long distance to Calabar, we arrived the Calabar free trade zone at 12:05 on arrival, we alighted from the bus we were and our lecturer told us to wait for him which we waited. He went into the company, came out and called us to follow him which we did and we were taken to a hall block led by some workers of the company. Inside the hall, we were told to wait that someone will come and address us for some minute, after about fifteen (15) minute, a lady came and address us, she told us her name is Lydia and that she is one of the workers in the Calabar free trade zone. She told us how it came to existence and why it is located in Calabar,  

She told us that free trade zone is a clearly dedicated industrial training estate and that it has about 152 hectares of land. She also told us the essence of having a free trade zone in Nigeria is to eliminate the industrial diversity. She also told us that we have two trade zones in Nigeria. But that the Calabar free trade  zone is the oldest and it came to existence in 1992, that as at then, it was known and called “EXPORT PROCESSING ZONE OF CALABAR (E.P.Z)”. Lydia also told us that the name Export processing zone of Calabar was changed in 2001 to Calabar free trade zone. 

According to Lydia, the name free trade zone does not mean that everything there is free rather it allows for other industrial trading processes such as publication, ware housing service providers repacking etc. She also told us clearly that the difference between Export  processing zone and free trade zone is that in export processing zone, they are pourly exporters and manufactures and in free trade zone it allow for other industrial processes to take place. 

Lydia also told us that the essence of locating the free trade zone in Calabar was to retrivalized the state itself and also for employment, and foreign direct investment, technological transfer etc. She also told us that under the free trade zone we have thirty (30) companies such as skyrun international, M-Seleh, Danaelec, Mati-combination industries, Paoyao and skills, Fosega etc. After she told us all these things, she created a chance for questions which many questions were asked and she gave us the answers to them. 

After the introduction by Lydia we were led by one of the worker in free trade zone out of the administrative block to have a view on some of the companies there in the free trade zone. The company we were opportune to visit is the AGRIM INTERNATIONAL COMPANY. In the company, we met a man who told us his name is Paul Bassey. Paul Bassey told us that Agrim international is an international company licensed  in Nigeria to produce herbal and natural alcoholic fruit drink. He also told us that Agrim international began operation in free trade zone in the year 2015 and also the company blends verity of tombo bitter, tombo Naju, shalaning and tombo mint. He also told us that ninety (90) percent of staffs trained in the company are Nigerians. When we enter into the company, I saw administrative office by right, quality control lab by left and a lot of instrument and the workers as well producing tombo product. 

A chart was drawn on how tombo product is produce thus; 

       Alcoholic   Beverage 

  

                        Raw water  

Diminralized  water  

          Sugar syrup  

          Colour  

Flavour 

Coming out of the Agrim international company some of tomo product was shared to us and we went back to were our bus was parked where our lecturer gave us some bottle drink and a rapped moi-moi. After that, we entered the bus and left the free trade zone at 2:33pm and drove back to school which we arrived at 5:37 pm. 

CONCLUSION   

In conclusion, I learnt that Calabar free trade zone is a place established for industrial business both local and international to take place