Nigerians have imported goods worth N18.12tn from the list of banned forex items released by the Central Bank of Nigeria between 2016 and 2022.
The apex bank had classified about 41 import items as not eligible for forex, which means that importers will not be able to get forex from the apex bank for such items. However, these items were not banned or prohibited by the Nigerian Customs Service, so they can still be imported.
The restriction was put in place by the CBN to ensure the effective utilization of foreign exchange and the optimum benefit from goods and services imported into the country, as well as to maintain stability in the foreign exchange market.
The items imported include crude palm oil, vegetable products, animal products, meat, vegetable fats and oil, steel products, rubber, plastic, clothes, and textiles.
An analysis of Nigerian Foreign Trade reports of the National Bureau of Statistics from 2016 to 2022 showed that the most imported item was vegetable products, totaling N4.8tn, followed by animal products at N3.3tn, and crude palm oil at N283.8bn.
Mackerel meat and blue whiting’s frozen meat were also among the items imported. However, these imports were done without the use of forex from the apex bank.