The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has placed access to foreign exchange (forex) for all forms of textile materials on the Forex restriction list, bank governor Godwin Emefiele announced recently in Abuja while meeting representatives from the textile industry. The policy takes effect immediately. The step would rejuvenate the sector and reduce smuggling, he said.
All forex dealers in Nigeria will now desist from granting any importer of textile material access to forex in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange market, he said.
Several other strategies will also be adopted to make it tough for recalcitrant smugglers to operate banking business in Nigeria, he said.
Smuggling would be seriously tackled to discourage import of textiles and force sellers of textile and garments to buy from Nigerian manufacturers, a news agency report quoted Emefiele as saying.
The bank will support the import of cotton lint for use in textile factories, with a caveat that such importers shall begin sourcing all their cotton needs locally beginning 2020, he said.
As part of its Anchor Borrowers Programme, the bank will support local cotton growers to enable them to meet the needs of the domestic textile industry.
It will support efforts to source high yield cotton seedlings to ensure the yields from Nigeria’s cotton farmers meet global standards and provide financial support to textile manufacturers to upgrade factories.
CBN will support the creation of textile production centres in certain designated areas where access to electricity would be guaranteed, he added.
