Nigeria Spends $1.04billion On Food Import

The Central Bank of Nigeria has reported that the foreign exchange it supplied for the importation of food was as high as $1.04 billion in the first half of this year.

CBN's report on sectoral utilisation for transactions valid for forex showed that the amount spent on food imports this year was 23 percent higher than the $840.18 million in the first half of 2020.

The CBN’s breakdown of sectoral utilisation of forex showed that food imports accounted for about 10.34 per cent of the $10.05bn utilised for imports in the country in H1 2021. In 2020, food imports accounted for about 6.57 per cent of the $28.46bn utilised for imports.

Although President Muhammadu Buhari had in September 2020 directed the CBN to stop issuing forex for food and fertiliser imports, data from the apex bank showed that $709.07m was utilised for food products imports in the last quarter of 2020.

The central bank has kept a growing list of importers restricted from accessing foreign exchange, including foods such as wheat and sugar. The apex bank also recently said only BUA and Dangote were allowed to import sugar into the country.