The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday said it would do everything within its powers to protect the incomes and jobs of local farmers following last week’s ban on sale of foreign exchange for importation of rice and other items.
The apex bank stated this in a statement signed by the Director, Corporate Communications Department, CBN, Mr Ibrahim Mu’azu.
The statement was issued in reaction to a publication by the Economist magazine in which it faulted the CBN decision to ban the sale of forex for the importation of some items.
Some of the items are rice, private jets, textiles, tomato paste, and poultry products among others.
Mu’azu in the statement said that Nigeria cannot attain its full potentials by importing everything into the country, adding that the huge rate of importation had weakened the operating capacities of the nation’s industries .
The new forex policy, the statement added, has now afforded the government the opportunity to begin a reversal.
“Contrary to the article’s argument, adjustments to a sharp decline in supply of US Dollars cannot all be borne by an indeterminate depreciation, without considering the full impact on the Nigerian economy.
“The demand side also has to be considered, not just in response to the pressure on the Naira but as an opportunity to change the economy’s structure, resuscitate local manufacturing, and expand job creation for our citizens.
“Take rice imports, for example: why should we keep allocating scarce foreign exchange to rice importers when vast amounts of paddy rice of comparable quality produced by poor hardworking local farmers across the rice belts of Nigeria are wasted, and farmers are falling deeper into poverty while we export their jobs and income to rice producing countries?
“Few decades ago, Nigeria was one of the world’s largest producers of palm oil but today we import nearly 600,000 Metric Tonnes while Indonesia and Malaysia combine to export over 90 per cent of global demand.
“Under these circumstances, the CBN will do the little it can to protect the jobs and incomes of local farmers, using some of the same principles Western Economies use to justify the protection of their farmers through huge subsidies,” the statement said.
The statement said like other oil-exporting countries, Nigeria is grappling with its share of the aftermath of the oil price decline.
It said despite this, the economic fundamentals remain strong as inflation is still within the CBN’s single-digit band, with the exchange rate stabilizing around N197 per US Dollar for the last five months.
“With ingenuity and productiveness, we believe that Nigerians will seize this opportunity and use it for the greater good of the country.
“As we transition into a new administration in Nigeria, we must continue to ensure policy stability at all times,” it concluded.
