The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has indicated it will intensify its Foreign Exchange restrictions on pail oil importers in the near future even as the apex bank said investors in the palm oil value chain can access credit at not more than 9 per cent.
The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele disclosed this yesterday in Abuja during a meeting with the governors of the South East, South South and other stakeholders in the palm oil production.
He said the $500 million Nigeria expends annually on palm oil imports is unacceptable and the CBN is committed to supporting investors in Nigeria to ensure sufficient local production of the commodity.
The meeting had in attendance the governors of Abia state Mr. Okezie Ikpeazu; Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom Emmanuel; Edo State, Mr.Godwin Obaseki and other stakeholders in the palm oil value chain.
“We can help the situation by providing cheap funds. We don’t have guns to be at the borders but we have forex to squeeze those dumpers and smugglers. We will also work with other people that are involved in policy making arena to ensure that this work,” the CBN governor said.
He noted that “despite placing oil palm in the forex exclusion list, official figures indicate that importation of palm oil had declined by about 40 per cent from the peak of 506,000 MTs in 2014 to 302,000 MT in 2017. This indicates that Nigeria still expends close to $500 million on oil palm importation annually and we are determined to change this narrative.’’
“Indeed with an estimated 3 million hectares of land under cultivation, abundance of suitable arable land, we need the cooperation of our state Governments in the oil palm producing zone to make land available to investors with proven financial and technical capabilities, who will be able to support developments of large scale palm oil plantations in the country.”
“I am happy to announce that all the states in the South-South and South- East regions have agreed to provide at least 100,000 hectares for the initiative. This program is also expected to accommodate the small holder farmers.’’
Commenting, Governor Obaseki said a clear plan path must be developed. “First, let’s try and develop a very clear plan. The governors of the states in the South South where palm tree grows well have agreed to contribute a specific amount of land to start with. I believe we can start with a plan of one million hectares immediately within the next couple of months,” he said as reported by Daily Trust.
