Nigerians are expected to spend as much as N9.9 trillion in 2017 to import various items into the country.
This was contained in a data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The apex bank data also revealed that the country spends about N3.4trillion annually on importation of four food items including rice, wheat, fish, and sugar.
The document also projects that the country would begin to see a significant reduction in the level of importation from N9.9 trillion in 2017 to N9.34 trillion and N8.79 trillion in the 2018 and 2019 fiscal periods, respectively.
The Acting Director, Trade and Exchange Department, CBN, Woritka Gotring, said the huge preference for imported items especially rice, wheat, fish and sugar by many Nigerians if left unchecked could worsen the economic recession currently facing the country.
Gotring stated this while responding to questions after speaking recently at a forum on the challenges of foreign exchange management in Nigeria under economic recession.
He said the depletion of the country’s external reserves was largely caused by the huge demand for foreign exchange, adding that this was a major reason a lot of actions were taken in that direction by the apex bank in recent times.
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