he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in April announced its decision to restrict access to foreign exchange for sugar and wheat importers. The co-founder and Chief Risk Officer of Farmcrowdy, Mr. Akidele Phillips stated in an exclusive interview with BizWatch Nigeria that the apex bank’s decision would boost local production.

Nigeria spends $600m to $1bn importing sugar yearly.

Reacting to the development, Mr. Akindele noted that, “Usually, when similar tax policies are put in place, it is to encourage production within the country. At the policy level, some of the ways to encourage local production or discourage importation is when a restriction is imposed or the import duty is raised.

“So, what I see is, because I am not in government, I am looking at the good side to this kind of policy. What is going to happen is, it is going to encourage local production. So even, if scarcity arises at the initial moment, the farmers that can actually produce these commodities are encouraged to do so to warm more revenue.“
Read More: https://bizwatchnigeria.ng/exclusive-cbns-forex-restriction-on-sugar-wheat-will-boost-local-production-farmcrowdy-co-founder/