The government of Nigeria has raised the exchange rate for cargo clearance from N952/$ to N1.356 per dollar.
This adjustment follows recent increases in the exchange rate for cargo clearance, reflecting a continuing trend of fluctuations in the country’s foreign exchange policies.
According to information obtained from the Customs official website, the exchange rate for cargo clearing was adjusted from N951.941 per dollar to N1,356.883/$.
This adjustment in the foreign exchange rate for cargo clearance at the port, occurring almost two months since its last adjustment in December 2023, is anticipated to have significant implications on the prices of imported goods.
According to port users, who have already been grappling with surging inflation, this adjustment marks the fourth exchange rate revision in the port industry.
The implementation of the floating foreign exchange rate regime by the Central Bank of Nigeria in July 2023 initiated these adjustments, making it the fourth change since the new government came into power.
Customs, acting on instructions from the Central Bank of Nigeria, executed the most recent adjustment on Friday, moving the exchange rate to N1,356.883/$.
“The FX rates of naira against the dollar and exchange rate for clearing imports imposed by the Nigeria Customs is very high. All these are leading to a decline in the volume of imports,” said Tony Anakebe, a licensed customs agent.
He said importers are currently facing heightened pressure as they grapple with the acquisition of dollars at elevated rates, coupled with the challenge of securing substantial funds for clearing goods at the port. This predicament is further exacerbated by the difficulty of obtaining bank loans to support import businesses.
The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi, had earlier declared the service’s commitment to utilizing only the exchange rate from the official Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) window for the clearance of imported goods.
He emphasized that Customs does not independently determine its exchange rate but aligns its system with the rates published on the CBN’s official window. This policy shift, aimed at harmonizing multiple exchange rate windows, has implications for customs operations.
However, the new exchange rate is still N56.242 less than the N1413.125 per dollar in the CBN official window, which shows that the rate is slowly reaching Customs’ new policy target.
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