The Cross River State Commission­er for Agriculture, Mr. James Ani­yo, has suspended the N5000 levy imposed on per tonne of Cocoa meant for export through other ports.
The non-compliance levy was introduced by the then Commissioner for Agric, Mr. Sandy Onor, in 2011.
But the Cocoa Association of Nigeria has since challenged the imposition at law court and subsequently got a judgment restraining the government from collecting the levy.
The suspension, however, was coming shortly after the cocoa merchants in Ikom, Cross River State took to the streets protest­ing against government agencies’ alleged re­fusal to issue evacuation papers for onward shipment of Cocoa.
Fielding questions from newsmen, Aniyom said “We have suspended the non-com­pliance levy till the outcome of the stakeholders meeting.
“We have, therefore,instructed the Di­rector of Produce Inspection to commence the immediate grading of Cocoa and allow merchants to lift their pro­duce.”  Speaking to newsmen after the protest march, the State Chairman of Cocoa Asso­ciation of Nigeria (CAN), Mr. Alphonsus Nana, said, “the non-compliance levy was ille­gal and the association expects government to respect court judgment
Nana said, “We have paid the money for three years now but now that the court has de­cided on the matter we want government to stop the illegal levy.
“The State Commissioner for Agriculture should call his people to order to stop harass­ing the Cocoa merchants in their bid to collect the money”
He feared that further delay in shipping the produce could affect output this season, add­ing that it could also cause the State Cocoa sector to col­lapse, while urging the state government to expedite action in that regard to enable them commence shipment of their produce.

Cocoa shipment: C’River suspends N5000 non-compliance levy