The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has finally lifted the foreign exchange restrictions it placed on importation of rice, cement and 41 items eight years ago,
The CBN stated this in a statement by its Director of Corporate Communications, Dr. Isa AbdulMumin, saying that the development represents a significant change to the foreign exchange market policy.
The CBN also state that the action will boost liquidity in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market and intervene from time to time, saying that interventions will decrease as liquidity improves.
In a circular in June 2015, the CBN published a list of imported goods and services that will not be eligible for foreign exchange in the Nigerian foreign currency market. The list which was originally 41 was updated to include two more items.
Here is the full list of the items:
1. Rice
2. Cement
3. Margarine
4. Palm kernel
5. Palm oil products
6. Vegetable oils
7. Meat and processed meat products
8. Vegetables and processed vegetable products
9. Poultry and processed poultry products
10. Tinned fish in sauce (Geisha)/sardine
11. Cold rolled steel sheets
12. Galvanized steel sheets
13. Roofing sheets
14. Wheelbarrows
15. Head pans
16. Metal boxes and containers
17. Enamelware
18. Steel drums
19. Steel pipes 20. Wire rods (deformed and not deformed)
21.Iron rods
22. Reinforcing bars
23. Wire mesh
24. Steel nails
25. Security and razor fencing and poles
26. Wood particle boards and panels
27. Wood fiberboards and panels
28. Plywood boards and panels
29. Wooden doors
30. Toothpicks
31. Glass and glassware
32. Kitchen utensils
33. Tableware
34. Tiles-vitrified and ceramic
35. Gas cylinders
36. Woven fabrics
37. Clothes
38. Plastic and rubber products
39. Polypropylene granules
40. Cellophane wrappers and bags
41. Soap and cosmetics
42. Tomatoes/tomato pastes
43. Eurobond/foreign currency bond/ share purchases
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