08 March 2019 : Consolidating on the 42-items ineligible for foreign exchange from official channels, the Central Bank of Nigeria yesterday announced forex restrictions on the importation of textile and textile materials into the country. As such, textile importers would no longer be able to access foreign exchange from banks and all other forex dealers.
While the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele in his statement stated that the apex bank will adopt strategies to restrain smuggling and simultaneously support domestic textile producers, analysts expect near-term production constraints to force current textile traders and businesses to source forex from the parallel market which could possibly lead to a higher exchange rate in that market. Depending on the quantum of this demand, analysts foresee inflationary pressure on this particular sector as well as efficiency losses from a policy that would possibly not put a dent in Nigeria’s import bill, noting that textiles currently make up c.1.3% of Nigeria’s total imports as at 9M’18.
Reporting for EasyKobo on Friday , 08 March 2019 in Lagos, Nigeria
Source: Vetiva Capital Management Limited