Items Not Valid for Foreign Exchange (FX) in the Nigerian FX Markets

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In an attempt to sustain the stability of the Foreign Exchange (FX) Market and ensure efficient utilization of Foreign Exchange for the derivation of optimum benefits from goods and services imported into Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently issued a new directive in a circular it distributed.

The directive exempts some imported goods and services from the list of items eligible to access FX at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange markets in order to foster and support local production of these items in the country.

The implication of this development is that importers desiring to import any of the items listed in the aforementioned CBN’s directive would be required to source for FX funds without any recourse to the Nigerian Foreign Exchange market (Interbank market and BBN Intervention).

The list of the affected items are outlined below but may be reviewed as the need arises. However, please note that the importation of these items are not banned.

The items include the following:

Rice

Cement

Margarine

Palm kernel/Palm oil products/vegetables oils

Meat and processed meat products

Vegetables and processed vegetable products

Poultry chicken, eggs, turkey

Private air-planes/jets

Indian incense

Tinned fish in sauce(Geisha)/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 bard

Wire mesh

Steel nails

Security and razor wine

Wood particle boards and panels

Wood Fibre Boards and Panels

Plywood boards and panels

Wooden doors

Toothpicks

Glass and Glassware

Kitchen utensils

Tableware

Tiles-vitrified and ceramic

Textiles

Woven fabrics

Clothes

Plastic and rubber products, polypropylene granules, cellophane wrappers

Soap and cosmetics

Tomatoes/tomato pastes

Eurobond/foreign currency bond/ share purchases

In our view, we understand Share Purchases (item 40 in the list) to be referring to Nigerians who access the foreign exchange market to invest in foreign securities and not foreign investors who inflow funds into Nigeria for the purposes of investment.

The CBN stated this was in a bid to sustain the stability of the foreign exchange market and ensure the efficient utilization of foreign exchange whilst encouraging local production of these items. The CBN also stated clearly that importation of these items are not banned, however importers of these items shall do so using their own funds without recourse to the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Markets.

The implication of this is that there will be reduced demand on the official market which means reduced pressure on the official FX market. However, there will be increased pressure on the parallel Market (Bureau de Change). The gap between the parallel and the official market will widen and the rate for dollars in the parallel market will increase. This will also lead to an increase in the cost of these items locally for consumers and ultimately inflation.

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