The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had previously restricted access to foreign exchange at the official window for importers of several items. However, on October 12, 2023, the CBN lifted the foreign exchange restriction on 43 items. The following is the full list of the 43 items that are no longer restricted:
- Rice
- Cement
- Margarine
- Palm kernel
- Palm oil products
- Vegetable oils
- Meat and processed meat products
- Vegetables and processed vegetable products
- Poultry and processed poultry products
- Tinned fish in sauce (Geisha)/sardine
- Cold-rolled steel sheets
- Galvanized steel sheets
- Roofing sheets
- Wheelbarrows
- Head pans
- Metal boxes and containers
- Enamelware
- Steel drums
- Steel pipes
- Wire rods (deformed and not deformed)
- Iron rods
- Reinforcing bars
- Wire mesh
- Steel nails
- Security and razor fencing and poles
- Wood particle boards and panels
- Wood fiberboards and panels
- Plywood boards and panels
- Wooden doors
- Toothpicks
- Glass and glassware
- Kitchen utensils
- Tableware
- Tiles-vitrified and ceramic
- Gas cylinders
- Woven fabrics
- Clothes
- Plastic and rubber products
- Polypropylene granules
- Cellophane wrappers and bags
- Soap and cosmetics
- Tomatoes/tomato pastes
- Eurobond/foreign currency bond/share purchases
It is important to note that the CBN still maintains restrictions on some items, and importers of these items are not eligible for foreign exchange at the CBN’s official window. The list of items that are still ineligible for foreign exchange at the CBN’s official window includes 43 non-eligible items.
