Manufacturers imported raw materials totaling N1. 88 billion between January and September 2022, according to the Q1-Q3 foreign trade reports, a 22. 36 percent decrease from the N2.43 billion they spent over the same time period in the previous year.
The Central Bank’s refusal to distribute foreign exchange to bureau de change operators has caused certain manufacturers who spoke with The PUNCH to criticize the difficulty in obtaining foreign currency at the secondary market.
However, Segun Kuti-George, the recently retired chairman of the Nigerian Association of Small-Scale Industrialists, hailed the recent recovery of the naira as a positive step. In Nigeria, we import 70 to 80 percent of the raw commodities we use.
Additionally, he asserted that manufacturers could not access the dollar due to its limited supply, adding that the situation would get worse in the new year due to the new directive by CBN for banks to source forex on their own.