CBN removes currency restrictions on 43 item imports.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced on Thursday that it has lifted foreign exchange restrictions it placed on importers of 43 items eight years ago.
This was confirmed in a CBN statement signed by the director of corporate communications, Dr. Isa AbdulMumin.
AbdulMumin said a significant change has been made in the foreign exchange market policy.
Importers who were previously restricted from purchasing foreign exchange for 43 specific items, as outlined in the 2015 Circular referenced as TED/FEFPC/GEN/O1/010 and its addenda, are now allowed to participate in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market to buy foreign currency for their transactions.
As of October 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had restricted access to Forex from the FX market for the following 43 items: rice, cement, margarine, palm kernel, palm oil products and vegetable oils, meat and processed meat products, and vegetables and processed vegetable products.
Others are: Poultry and processed poultry products; Tinned fish in sauce (geisha) or sardines, Cold-rolled steel sheets, Galvanized steel sheets, Roofing sheets, Wheelbarrows, Head pans, Metal boxes and containers, Enamelware, Steel drums, steel pipes, wire rods (deformed and not deformed), iron rods, and reinforcing bars
Also included on the list were: wire mesh, steel nails, security and razor fencing and poles, wood particle boards and panels, wood fiberboards and panels, plywood boards and panels, wooden doors, toothpicks, glass and glassware, kitchen utensils, tableware, vitrified tiles, and ceramic tiles.
