CBN Readjust Exchange Rate Following Rejection From Stakeholders

Following the rejection of stakeholders following the proposed CBN plans to adjust the exchange rate on the Customs platform to N1,356.883/$, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has settled on leaving the exchange rate on the Customs platform at N1,413.62/$.

The exchange rate review on the Customs platform came in less than 24 hours after the CBN created the exchange rate from N951.941/$ to N1,356.883/$ on Friday, February 2, 2023.

From records, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last year, on June 24, 2023, adjusted the exchange rate from N422.30/$ to N589/$. On July 6, 2023, the CBN changed the exchange rate from N589/$ to N770.88/$. On November 14, 2023, the CBN adjusted the exchange rate from N770.88/$ to N783.174/$. On December 7, 2023, the CBN adjusted the exchange rate from N783.174/$ to N951.941/$. On February 2, 2023, the CBN adjusted the exchange rate from N951.941/$ to N1,356.883/$. The recent change in the exchange rate was disputed and changed to N1,413.62/$.

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Some maritime experts said that the increase in the exchange rate means that Nigerian importers will pay heavily to clear their goods at the port as import duty is benchmarked against the dollar.

The new rate has since been reflected on the Customs Trade Portal. The increase was opposed by importers and customs brokers when Apex Bank first increased the customs import duty rate by 43% on Friday.

Speaking on this, Dr Muday Yusuf, a former director-general of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), noted that the increase in the exchange rate will further worsen the woes of importers.

He said,

• We need more problems with the exchange rate. Now, we have an additional burden of import duty hikes because it is like increasing import duty across the board by another 15% or more; that is what it is.

Following that, Amiwero, the President of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), said, 

• The Government, through her policy, is pushing more people into poverty. Nobody should blame Customs; it is the Government that should be blamed. With the rise in the exchange rate, people will not import because of the way you look at it; how do you get foreign exchange to import?

• I don’t know what the Government is doing about it because it is devastating. The ports are getting empty; people are not importing. People are not working, and you cannot access your goods. If you go to the market now, the price of goods has doubled, and petrol and diesel have become problems.
  
  

This announcement came just a week after the Federal Government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria, increased the exchange rate for cargo clearance from N783/$ to N952/$.

Before then, the exchange rate for cargo clearance by the Nigerian Customs Service was increased from N757/$ to N783/$, which signifies a 3.4% increase, before it was raised from N783/$ to N952/$ in December.