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Nigeria: 2015 Import Ban Lifted
Budd Nigeria is pleased to advise that this month Governor Yemi Cardoso announced the lifting of the import ban which was first introduced on 23 June 2015 in accordance with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) circular no. TED/FEM/FPC/GEN/01/010 and its addendums.
The governor declared “Importers of all the 42 items previously restricted by the 2015 circular TED/FEM/FPC/GEN/01/010 and its addendums are now permitted to engage in foreign exchange transactions in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market”.
For the first time in 8 years, it is now possible to export the following products to Nigeria:
- Bagged rice
- Cement
- Margarine
- Palm kernel/palm oil products/vegetable oils
- Meat and processed meat products
- Vegetables and processed vegetable products
- Poultry chicken, eggs, turkey
- Private airplanes/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 bars
- Wire mesh
- Steel nails
- Security and razor wire
- Wood particle boards and panels
- Wood fiber boards and panels
- Plywood boards and panels
- Wooden doors
- Furniture
- Toothpicks
- Glass and glassware
- Kitchen utensils
- Tableware
- Tiles – vitrified and ceramic
- Textiles
- Woven fabrics
- Clothes
- Plastic and rubber products, cellophane wrappers
- Soap and cosmetics go
- Tomatoes/tomato pastes
- Maize/corn
- Fertilizer
and for Nigerians to make Euro bond, foreign currency bond and share purchases.
The Nigerian Government’s aim in implementing the ban was to encourage local production, create employment, and maintain foreign currency reserves. However, according to the Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, “the restrictions pushed importers into the parallel market, contributing to the surplus demand for FOREX. This weakened the parallel-market exchange rate, pushing up prices.”
The lifting of the 2015 ban creates new foreign trade opportunities and may boost the economy.
Budd Nigeria would be pleased to assist any vessels who may require cargo surveys.
Information provided by Budd Nigeria (budd.nigeria@budd-pni.com)