Research Document: Reforms Towards Resolving Foreign Exchange Challenges in Nigeria

Posted Wed, May 11, 2022 6:15 PM

The problem of forex shortage and inappropriate forex pricing is largely attributable to weak productivity across the various activities in the non-oil sector, despite their huge potential to contribute significantly to forex earnings in Nigeria. The trade statistics showed that Nigeria is a net importer of agricultural products, raw materials, and semi-finished and finished manufacturing goods. This suggests the structural challenges limiting the growth of employment-elastic sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, construction, and trade, among others.

• Based on the data from NBS, the net import value of agricultural products rose sharply by 77.5 percent to N1.5 trillion in 2021 from N823.6 billion in 2020.
• The net import value for raw materials increased by 11.1 percent to N1.4 trillion in 2021 from N1.3 trillion in 2020.
• Nigeria’s net import value of manufactured goods jumped to N9.4 trillion in 2021 from N6.2 trillion in 2020.