Forex: 43 Items Not Totally Banned, Says CBN Governor, Cardoso

Yemi Cardoso, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has clarified the notion that the previously restricted 43 items on the CBN list were not prohibited from entering the country but were only restricted from FX access at the official market.

VerseNews reports that the clarification was made at the 58th Annual Bankers’ Dinner organized by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) on Friday in Lagos.

He highlighted that trade policy, particularly the importation and sale of the 43 items, falls squarely under the jurisdiction of fiscal authorities rather than the CBN.

In June 2015, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued a circular containing a list of imported goods and services ineligible for foreign exchange in the country’s currency market.

The list which originally comprised 41 items, was later updated to incorporate an additional two items.

However, CBN made an announcement on October 12, 2023, declaring the removal of the ban on issuing foreign exchange for the importation of various items, including rice, vegetable oil, and poultry products.

Meanwhile, experts have also urged the CBN to remove the restriction placed on these 43 items.

“Allow me to provide further clarification on the issue of the 43 items.

“Firstly, it is important to note that these items were never outrightly banned by the government.

“The CBN had imposed restrictions on their access to foreign exchange in the official market.

“However, these restrictions resulted in increased demand for foreign exchange in the parallel market, leading to the depreciation of the exchange rate in that segment of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market and widening the premium between the parallel and official market,’’ Cardoso said.