Official List Of 43 Banned Items From Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market

Official List Of 43 Banned Items From Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market

In a circular dated June 23rd, 2015 the central bank of Nigeria published a list of imported goods and services that will not be valid for foreign exchange in the Nigerian foreign exchange market.

According to the statement issued by the central bank at the time, the list was published “in the continuing effort to sustain the stability of the foreign exchange market and ensure the efficient utllization of foreign exchange and the derivation of optimum benefits from goods and services imported Into the country.”

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It further stated that in order to encourage local production of these items, it had to exclude importers of some goods and services from accessing foreign exchange at the Nigerian foreign exchange markets.

In exchange, the central bank believed that the policy will help conserve foreign reserves as well as facilitate the resuscitation of domestic industries and improve employment generation.

The list was initially 41 when it was announced but the central bank included two more items.

It’s 8 years since then and the jury is out on whether this policy has worked or not.

Below is a list of the 43 items that are illegible for accessing Nigeria’s forex market.

1. 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 (Gelsha)/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 ReInforcina Bars
22. Wire Mesh
23. Steel Nalls
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
40. Tomatoes/Tomato Pastes
41. Euro bond/Foreign Currency Bond/Share
Purchases
42. Milk
43. Maize

Note: While the list is 43, each item on the list includes several other sub-items as captured by the Nigerian Customs using their import codes list.

The above list does not also mean that the items on it are banned from being imported. They are just banned from accessing forex from the official investor and exporter window.

Credit: Nairametrics