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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:

  1. Bagged rice
  2. Cement
  3. Margarine
  4. Palm kernel/palm oil products/vegetable oils
  5. Meat and processed meat products
  6. Vegetables and processed vegetable products
  7. Poultry chicken, eggs, turkey
  8. Private airplanes/jets
  9. Indian incense
  10. Tinned fish in sauce (geisha)/sardines
  11. Cold rolled steel sheets
  12. Galvanized steel sheets
  13. Roofing sheets
  14. Wheelbarrows
  15. Head pans
  16. Metal boxes and containers
  17. Enamelware
  18. Steel drums
  19. Steel pipes
  20. Wire rods (deformed and not deformed)
  21. Iron rods and reinforcing bars
  22. Wire mesh
  23. Steel nails
  24. Security and razor wire
  25. Wood particle boards and panels
  26. Wood fiber boards and panels
  27. Plywood boards and panels
  28. Wooden doors
  29. Furniture
  30. Toothpicks
  31. Glass and glassware
  32. Kitchen utensils
  33. Tableware
  34. Tiles – vitrified and ceramic
  35. Textiles
  36. Woven fabrics
  37. Clothes
  38. Plastic and rubber products, cellophane wrappers
  39. Soap and cosmetics go
  40. Tomatoes/tomato pastes
  41. Maize/corn
  42. 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)

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