The Central Bank of Nigeria’s foreign exchange policies mandating traders to repatriate their earnings are hurting intra-African trade, according to the Transborder Traders Association.
The president of the association, Nasiru Salami, disclosed this in Lagos recently in a chat with The PUNCH.
Salami, lamented that some laws were hindering cross-border trade in Nigeria.
“Because of the foreign exchange, the government said we needed to repatriate our export proceeds. If you export goods outside Nigeria for those who are coming to buy goods, the moment they export gold, they have to repatriate the money and today you don’t expect a poor man to come and buy gold and start looking for foreign exchange to be able to repatriate. So, these are the challenges small and medium enterprises are facing.
“They are also having problems with how to repatriate export proceeds. You know the government has said that when you export gold, for instance, you have to repatriate the foreign exchange and all that. You have to transfer foreign exchange to Nigeria, and the policy is among African countries,” he said.
“Asking the few people who come to buy and sell to go to the bank to make transfers, some of them can’t make it. Someone who comes to buy a small quantity of what to sell you would be asking the people to send the money back in dollars. These are the challenges the cross-border traders are facing,” he explained.
According to Salami, the Nigerian government needs to be more organised, “because it is only in Nigeria that the law is enforced. In other countries, all 14 Economic Community of West African States countries don’t pay it”.
On how the exchange rate has affected transborder traders, he said, “Let us wait till the end of this month to see what the effect of the reduction in the dollar against the naira would bring.”.
He noted that despite the ban on imported poultry products, 70 per cent of imported livestock into Nigeria comes from Niger Republic.
He said that trade that happens between Nigeria and other African countries is mostly done on a trade-by-barter basis.
According to Salami, while the Niger Republic supplies Nigeria with livestock, Nigeria reciprocates with agricultural products and sometimes manufactured goods.
“Most of the trades that happen between Nigeria and other African countries are by barter. For example, if you look at the Niger Republic, they supply about 70 per cent of livestock to Nigeria and Nigeria supplies them agricultural products and sometimes manufactured goods,” Salami said.
