Goods worth N4.29 trillion (~$2.74 billion) were imported in 2023—a year-on-year (YoY) rise of close to cent per cent. Textiles worth N377.18 billion (~$240.93 million) were imported during the year, domestic media outlets reported.
After the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) categorised 41 import items in 2015 as not valid for forex, importers of those commodities were forced to source forex in the black market at higher rates, putting pressure on the naira. The ban was lifted last October.
“Recent World Bank estimates show that removing import restrictions could lower the prices of affected items by 4.7 per cent. This would lead to an overall increase in purchasing power which, in turn, would lift about 1.3 million people (around 0.6 per cent of the population) out of poverty,” the World Bank had noted in the December 2023 edition of its Nigeria Development Update.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)