The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s plan to include more items on the banned list will boost indigenous businesses and facilitate expansion into new frontiers.
Chairman, Lagos State chapter of the National Association of Small Scale Industrialists; Mr Kuti George made the remarks in an interview in Lagos.
George said that enlarging list of banned items, if not the items met for production, would create the opportunity by local manufacturers to grasp the market share and grow their businesses.
The apex bank Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, had on Jan. 24 said at the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting that the Federal Government might enlarge the list of banned items from accessing forex.
George said, “It will be a win for many businesses operating on the shores of the country as they will flood the market with their goods and become more popular.
“It will enable local manufacturers to be more ingenious, especially in commodities that have substitutes in the country.
“Besides, it will encourage backward integration.”
He, however, urged the government to tackle smuggling vigorously, saying that the banned items would further encourage smuggling.
“Managing the smuggling challenges will enable domestic businesses to leverage on the opportunity that the policy will create,” he said.
In August 2015, the CBN banned 41 items from accessing forex.
Some of the items include toothpick, palm oil products, wooden door, textiles, nails, glass and glass wares, roofing sheets, rice, cement, among others.
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