CBN adds fertiliser to list of 41 items not eligible for forex

The central bank of Nigeria CBN has added fertiliser to the list of 41 import items not eligible for foreign exchange.

 foreign exchange.

The 41 items are rice, cement, margarine,palm kernel/palm oil products/vegetables oils, meat and processed meatproducts, vegetables and vegetables products, poultry chicken, eggs, turkey,private airplanes/jets, Indian incense, tinned fish in sauce (Giesha)/sardines, cold rolled steel sheets, roofing sheets, galvanized and cold rolled steel sheets.

Others are roofing sheets, wheelbarrows, head pans, metal boxes and containers, enamelware, steel drums, steel pipes, wire rods (deformed and not deformed), iron rods and reinforcing bard, wire mesh, metal boxes and containers, steel drums, steel pipes, wire rods (deformed and not deformed), iron rods and reinforcing bard and wire mesh.

Also, on the list, steel nails, security and razor wine, wood particle boards and panels, wood, fibre, boards and panels, plywood boards and panels, wooden doors, toothpicks, glass and glassware, kitchen utensils, tableware, tiles-vitrified and ceramic, textiles, woven fabrics, clothes, plastic and rubber products, polypropylene granules, cellophane wrappers, soap and cosmetics, tomatoes/tomato pastes, eurobond/foreign currency bond/ share purchases.

Ahmed B. Umar, Director, Trade and Exchange Department of the CBN, disclosed this in a circular titled; ‘Re: Inclusion of some imported goods and services on the list of items not valid for forex in the Nigerian forex market,’ addressed to traders and the general public.

The CBN said the updated record of 42 items not eligible for forex became effective December 7, 2018.

The circular reads, “in the continued effort to sustain the achievement recorded from the classification of 41 import items as ‘not valid for foreign exchange’ in the Nigerian foreign exchange market, authorised dealers and the general public are hereby notified of the inclusion of ‘fertiliser’ on the list effective Friday. December 07, 2018.”

The apex bank assured that it will ensure transaction on fertiliser for which payments are outstanding are settled at the appropriate dates.

In 2015, Nigeria’s monetary regulatory authority placed a ban on accessing foreign exchange in the official foreign exchange market for the importation of some goods and services.

The aim was to encourage local production of these items, conserve foreign reserves, resuscitate domestic industries and improve employment.