The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently announced that it has lifted the foreign exchange ban on 43 imported goods. This means that the Central Bank of Nigeria allows importers to purchase foreign exchange from the official foreign exchange window and import 43 commodities including rice, cement, and palm oil.
In June 2015, Nigeria's central bank initially included 41 items on a list of goods that could not be purchased for foreign exchange from the official market, citing the need to conserve scarce foreign exchange and encourage domestic production for self-sufficiency and exports. Later, the list expanded to 43 items.
Dr. Isa Abdul Mumin, Director of Corporate Communications at the Central Bank of Nigeria, said the central bank will continue to promote orderly and professional conduct among all participants in the foreign exchange market and ensure that market forces and the principle of voluntary buyer-seller principles determine exchange rates.
Abdul Mumin further emphasized that as part of its responsibility to ensure exchange rate stability, the central bank will intervene in the foreign exchange market from time to time to increase liquidity in the foreign exchange market, but he said that these interventions will gradually decrease as market liquidity improves.
