Textile, maize importers can get forex as CBN unbans 43 items (See full list)

The Central Bank of Nigeria has lifted a ban on 43 items that were previously restricted from accessing forex, a bank spokesperson said on Thursday.

The bank said it will boost the supply of foreign currency as pressure over chronic shortage of the dollar pushes the naira to record lows. The currency exchanged at 1040 to a dollar on the parallel market, and N759.20 on the official market on Thursday.

The bank advised buyers of foreign currency to quote rates from its website, FMDQ, and other recognised or appointed trading systems.

“As part of its responsibility to ensure price stability, the CB will boost liquidity in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market by interventions from time to time. As market liquidity improves, these CB interventions will gradually decrease,” spokesperson Isa Abdulmumin said Thursday.

“The CB is committed to accelerating efforts to clear the FX backlog with existing participants and will continue dialogue with stakeholders to address the issue.”

What this means

The CBN introduced the ban in 2015. The list had 41 items, subsequently expanded to cover more items. The bank said the move was aimed at stabilizing the naira and encouraging local production.

In June, it affirmed the ban remained in place.

Banning the items, some of the most popular items in the country, meant that importers had to source foreign currency from the black market, thereby fuelling a chronic shortage of the dollar against the naira.

The new decision means importers of the items can officially bid and obtain forex from the official sources, with the potential of driving down the exchange rate. Some of the items, such as rice and cement, remain banned by the Nigerian Customs.

Here is the list of the 43 unbanned items:

1. Rice
2. Cement
3. Margarine
4. Palm kernel/palm oil products/vegetables oils
5. Meat and processed meat products
6. Vegetables and processed vegetable products
7. Poultry – chicken, eggs, turkey
8. Private airplanes/jets
9. Indian incense
10. Tinned fish in sauce (geisha)/sardines
11. Cold-rolled steel sheets
12. Galvanised 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 and reinforcing bars
22. Wire mesh
23. Steel nails
24. Security and razor wire
25. Wood particle boards and panels
26. Wood fibre boards and panels
27. Plywood boards and panels
28. Wooden doors
29. Furniture
30. Toothpicks
31. Glass and Glassware
32. Kitchen utensils
33. Tableware
34. Tiles – vitrified and ceramic
35. Textiles
36. Woven fabrics
37. Clothes
38. Plastic and rubber products, polypropylene granules, cellophane wrappers
39. Soap and cosmetics
40. Tomatoes/tomato paste
41. Eurobond/foreign currency bond/ share purchases
42. Dairy/milk
43. Maize