In addition to lifting the prohibition on 43 commodities that were previously ineligible for forex at the official market, the Central Bank of Nigeria has stated that it is increasing the availability of dollars on the foreign currency market.
The decision was made after pressure from foreign organizations and experts caused the naira to drop to 1,050/$ on the black market on Thursday.
Between 2016 and 2022, Nigerians imported a minimum of nine items worth N18.12 trillion from the CBN’s FX prohibition list.
Items like crude palm oil, vegetables, meat, animal products, vegetable fats and oils, steel products, rubber, plastic, clothing, and textiles were imported from different nations, according to an analysis of the National Bureau of Statistics’ reports on Nigeria’s foreign trade from 2016 to 2022.
According to a different source, Nigerians bought five commodities worth N543 billion in the first quarter of 2023 despite the CBN’s ban on the use of foreign exchange for these purchases.
However, numerous organizations and economic experts have urged the CBN to lift the forex restrictions.
Citigroup stated earlier this week that if the nation wanted to address the problems with the forex market, the CBN’s limits on foreign exchange provisions for 43 products had to be lifted.
Credit expert Ayso van Eysinga stated this in the CEEMEA Frontier Credit Market Commentary after visiting Nigeria.
Van Eysinga noted that it was necessary to loosen limitations on the 43 goods in addition to resolving the backlog of FX demand.
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