Teenaira:


It is okay to import things you can not produce or produce efficiently. However, if we make importation an all comers affairs, Nigeria will become a dumping ground for substandard products. Besides, each time we import we are employing somebody in the country we are importing from while we deny our people employment opportunities.

If you make these sort of goods expensive you kill other valuable jobs. By making cement expensive to protect the manufacturers you hurt home builders. That's one less potential project. If you do the same for foods, you get a higher price floor for food. This means less saving and investment.

As you know, Nigeria has a positive trads balance most years. Nigerians know what they're efficient at producing they export those goods and don't import certain others.

melodyogonna:

They have been banned for 8 years, how many tons did we export?

Has the local produce been able to even meet local demand?

America has been stylishly restricting inflow of superior palm oil, how many have they exported?

Teenaira:


It is okay to import things you can not produce or produce efficiently. However, if we make importation an all comers affairs, Nigeria will become a dumping ground for substandard products. Besides, each time we import we are employing somebody in the country we are importing from while we deny our people employment opportunities.

It's a free market. If there is market for substandard product then substandard products will thrive, it simply means you have people that can't afford better and if you takeaway the market they'll have nothing. If they have better opportunities they'll go for more quality things thereby killing the substandard market, simple economics.

CodeTemplar:
America has been stylishly restricting inflow of superior palm oil, how many have they exported?

Why have they been restricting the inflow? And why are they restricting it rather than outrightly banning it?

ORIENTATION101:
fool, those items have been banned for 9yrs, instead local market Decides to choke nigerians making the price skyrockets everymarket days.
How can imported rice and cement be cheaper than local ones.

It's a paradox of the Nigerian economy that that monumental disaster,Buhari unleashed with Emefiele,a willing fo ol of a tool.
With cost of shipping from long distances,custom tax to be paid in exporting countries and Nigeria,yet local rice and other products that didn't pay these costs and with even lower labour cost,was getting costlier than imported items!

well when they neglect the economy, what do you think will happen

melodyogonna:

For one it's going to fix demand and supply. For another you can't float your currency while not having a free market.

all these policy jargons will not stop the naira from dropping even further , we don't need any elaborate policy think tank the problem is as simple as abc, no need for any rocket science solution. the problem is our economy is purely import and there is no dollars to sustain our importation, govt simply does not have any fx enough. the basic solution should be how to improve our local production and reduce our importation. chikena

okewumi:


You get sense. Anytime government ban importation, the local producer shut up the price because of greedynes.
Immediately obasanjo baned importation of egg, the price jumps from #80 per create to #900.

When Buhari banned rice. The price went up from 12k to #30k . I went to Adani in enugu and two modu of rice which is equivalent to 50kg was around #14k but because of greedynes they sell in city around 32k. Nigeria is complex. Whatever it will make life better for masses should be introduced

It is not greed, it's simple supply and demand. The reason for expensive products is lack of scale, and to scale you need to increase manufacturing capacity.
If prices shot up and the supply is no longer matching demand, to fix that you need to increase production capacity. If you think it's greed you need to go back to school and learn simple economics

ORIENTATION101:
the importers needs to source forex from blackmarket to import those items on ban list. It is shrinking cbn trade volume while black market is the destination of substantial amount of the forex coming in and out.
No point holding on to the ban especially when cbn trade volume is shrinking. And inflation is on high side.
Local manufacturers re greedy idiots.
Instead of carrying nigerian. Forex to benin republic to import food and pay tax to their govt at the expense of nigeria economy. Kuku allow them to import from nigeria directly through official channel then masses reap crash prices in foodstuff and govt forex trade volume and tax increases

Why do I feel dangote and his cohorts are about to experience their biggest business challenge.

frog12:
well when they neglect the economy, what do you think will happen

This is one of the best economic decisions I have seen in some time. This, along with floating the Naira and removing subsidy. This will have an effect on the economy in a month or two, it should fix the supply side of many things

Againstallodds:
Expect dollar to dip in the coming days

I think people really overestimate how important dollar is. The price of dollar is not really that important to the average person so far the price of things are low in their local currency. In fact as a low economy export nation you want your currency value to be low so you can attract buyers.

Youths can't be encouraged in this country let's keep waiting to import everything.. Useless decisions.. Useless govt.

AngelicBeing:
Naira to Dollar is going up astronomically, if the trend continues like this, without good government economic policies, by October 2024, Dollar might likely be exchanging between 1500 to 2000 naira

It's not a matter of good government policy. Its a situation of elastic demand vs a fixed and limited supply of fx. There is nothing anyone can do in the short term. If Nigerias reserves were in the USD60bn range, the Naira/USD would be in the 400-500 range.

Long term we must have import substitution and that will be driven by power distribution. No country can develop a manufacturing base without adequate power.

I hope that the government will ignore the short term noise and deal with the fundamental issues instead of borrowing against the future.

CodeTemplar:
Olodo as usual. It will increase and send the Naira further down. Mark my words.

More people will start looking for dollar to import and thus flood to forex market. As demand grows against limited supply of forex, seller will price it higher for the highest bidder to purchase. That will take us to N1500/$ faster.

Why are you never civilized when replying?

A good policy is a good policy even if has initial impact seems negative.

This is not good news for manufacturers in Nigeria. This policy can only work if the CBN merges the rate in the I$E with the rate on the parallel market

. If the CBN does not do this, then this will effectively be a subsidization of importation. And will bring short term benefits such as lower prices in rice, cement and the other items in the list - depending on effectiveness of the CB supplying the I& E. I n the long-term, the manufacturing, with subsidization of FX, the last remaining manufacturing and value chains for rice, cement etc. will be destroyed. Precedent of this is the destruction of the textile industry. Production of rice in India is far cheaper than in Nigeria, in fact its cheaper to import than produce in Nigeria.

Corruption is Nigeria's problem, and considering the negative impact of subsidizing FX for importers - I am not in support of this policy. Short term gains and long-term pain. WE need a strong manufacturing base and for me government should be looking for ways to subsidize input to cost of manufacturing e.g., subsidizing diesel.

frog12:
it's a bad idea to lift the ban on 43 items . dullards

You Sabi na here you dey ... dey play giDi gan

APC is the most confused political party in world history
They just keep going round in circles
2015 you banned imports and restricted forex in a bid to protect the local economy and defend the naira
2023, they first float the naira thus contradicting defending the naira now removing import restrictions
Meanwhile, the effects of the former policies are yet to abate for a party that claimed 218 to a dollar was bad
APC know nothing about governance. They are just a power grabbing machine

Lanruze:
Adams Oshiomole opined and suggested that the CBN should have a composition of sound economists and not just Ex-Bankers who were undertakers to Liquidated Banks, he clearly knows what he was saying.

The new CBN Governor-Mr. Cardoso had better been advised on this - very ill-advised route he is about to embark on.

No country in history has ever stabilised its FX regime on imports. None !

The CBN Governor may adopt the following policies and suggestion immediately.

1, Monetary Policy should be Objective specific on Exports. The elementary knowledge of Economics is simple : "the higher the Export of Finished good you have a comparative advantage, the higher the value of your currency"

Oman, Beruit, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia all have their currencies higher than the US Dollar. These countries are mono-product . They produce derivates from crude oil. Fuel, DPK, Jet A1 etc. These countries have been able to expand their economies purely on its exploitation of crude oil.

The Nigerian Fed. Govt. through NNPC owns equity in Dangote Refinery. At full production of it's installed capacity, Dangote Refinery has the capacity to push down the Nigerian FX rate by 30% in three(3) months if well articulated.

The Bonny light crude oil from Escravos and Niger Delta Nigeria is one of the most sought after crude based purely on it's low emission of carbon and harmful elements to the environment.

As the Ukraine War persist, and the blockage by NATO of the Black Sea and the Cramerian border. The Global demand for our refined derivates including PMS in Africa and continentally is high.

These countries have expressed interest before hand and demand will push down the demand for FX automatically.

Emefiele may have been corrupt but not stupid.

Drive Exports of finished products intentionally through both intervention programs and articulated polices and watch the naira gain massive traction.

You largely made valid points here.

However, Beirut in Lebanon is not an oil producing area, neither is the larger Lebanon and there has been a severe weakening of the Lebanese currency and capital flight,

Second, Bonny light is drilled
around Bonny island in Rivers State while Escravos is driilled in the
Ugborodu (formerly named
Escravos) area in Itsekiriland, Delta State.

Float the naira, don't float the naira. Remove subsidy but surreptitiously return it. A confused government is what we have.

Againstallodds:
Expect dollar to dip in the coming days

lol deep to where ?

Adolfnigeria:
This is not good news for manufacturers in Nigeria. This policy can only work if the CBN merges the rate in the I$E with the rate on the parallel market

. If the CBN does not do this, then this will effectively be a subsidization of importation. And will bring short term benefits such as lower prices in rice, cement and the other items in the list - depending on effectiveness of the CB supplying the I& E. I n the long-term, the manufacturing, with subsidization of FX, the last remaining manufacturing and value chains for rice, cement etc. will be destroyed. Precedent of this is the destruction of the textile industry. Production of rice in India is far cheaper than in Nigeria, in fact its cheaper to import than produce in Nigeria.

Corruption is Nigeria's problem, and considering the negative impact of subsidizing FX for importers - I am not in support of this policy. Short term gains and long-term pain. WE need a strong manufacturing base and for me government should be looking for ways to subsidize input to cost of manufacturing e.g., subsidizing diesel.

Spot on

Coronavirus1:

Yes that is the meaning

That’ll be a huge relief ooo

Restricted items should remained banned.
Tokunbo spare part should be banned
Used fridge and air conditioner should be banned.
Used tires and used cars should be banned.
Food should be banned. We should plant our food.
If we are really serious as a Nation.

I see a lot of un-educated likes and shares.

Dollar will not drop. The CBN does not have the reserves to support all the demand of these 43 items at the I& E window.

You would most likely see the I & E rate drop to the rate in the parrallel market.

Cost of production in Nigeria is one of the highest in the world. Production of rice in india is far cheaper than in Nigeria. The farmers of rice and producers will suffer. Just the way our textile industry collapsed, expect this in rice sector.

Producers of all the items on this list, in Nigeria, will most likely be put out of business.

Short term gain long term  pain.

Againstallodds:
Expect dollar to dip in the coming days

Againstallodds:
Expect dollar to dip in the coming days

lets be optimistic. We have no option.
Hopefully your prediction works.
Just that naija does not have a history of what goes up comming down.

Kpartners:

And go up again in the coming weeks

you Dey answer am . Lol … the ones wey them no ban before , them Dey see FX to give them and you want to add 43 new item applicants . Make them fix supply side first .

Jokers

I do not understand where this goveremt is really driving at? From my knowledged of elementary economics, I used to knw that government policies that encourages importation would most likely cause scarcity of foreign exchange. we are already grapling with FX scarcity and all the government could come up with is to lift ban on importation of items that were previously classified as produceble in our local economy. Even the dumbest layman should be able to predict the outcome of this policy.
What has Nigerians gotten thereselves into by electing these clowns to preside over our national affairs. We are in a very hot soap, I have a bad feeling that the worse is yet to come, we should expect more hardship in the nearest future.
What we need is a more robust interventions that will stand the test of time and not this wuruwuru economic policies.
I am so ashamed of this regime.

The level of mumu in this country

Items were banned to reduce the demand for forex, but even with the current disaster we call exchange rate, CBN wants to make things worse

Againstallodds:
Expect dollar to dip in the coming days

Dollar to drop abi?

Dem dey use your head play pingpong

Againstallodds:
Expect dollar to dip in the coming days