The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently announced a ban on the importation of maize/corn1. This ban adds maize to the list of 41 other products some of which include rice, cement, margarine, and palm kernel that had earlier been banned2. The embargo comes as a means to further encourage local production, stimulate economic growth as well as secure local jobs and livelihoods. Available data shows that Nigeria imported 400,000 tons of maize in 2019 the same as it did in 20183. However, forex restrictions on the importation of rice, coupled with the closure of the Nigerian land borders to neighboring countries, has seen the country move from a major importer to the largest producer of rice in Africa.4 By extension, it is expected that the addition of maize to the forex restriction list will help to stimulate its domestic production and thus reduce or eliminate dependence on imported maize. Consequently, this effort is also expected to limit domestic demand for forex and curb the exchange rate volatility.
August 12, 2020
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 28)
Related
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 19)
A recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics
(NBS) indicates that Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) at the subnational
level decreased slightly between 2014 and 2015. Specifically, the report shows
that on the average, the IGR of all 36 states declined by 3.6 per cent from
N707.9 billion in 2014 to N683.6 billion in 20157. A further
disaggregation reveals that while IGR in 11 states improved in 2015 compared to
2014, IGR in 24 states were below their 2014 levels. As expected, Lagos state
generated the most IGR during the period. Given that domestic resource mobilization
is the most viable alternative to complement the shortfalls (driven by lower
oil prices) in budgetary allocations to states from the federal government,
state governments need to do more to improve the effectiveness and efficiency
of revenue collection.