Despite a directive that the Central Bank of Nigeria should stop issuing forex for food and fertiliser imports, Nigeria has spent $1.41billion on importation of food products in the last eight months.
Forex supply for food imports in the last eight months rose by 35.28 per cent at $1.41billion.
Reports obtained from the CBN on sectoral utilisation for transactions valid for forex revealed that the forex used for food products imports rose from $163.6million in January 2021 to $197.73million in February but fell to $171.05million in March and $156.3million in April.
The Monetary Policy Committee said that between September and October, under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, the CBN disbursed ₦43.19billion to support the cultivation of over 250,000 hectares of maize, sorghum, soya beans and rice during the 2021 dry season.
₦5.88billion was also disbursed to finance six large scale agricultural projects under the Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme.
The committee said with improved security, especially in the food-producing areas, food inflation would drop significantly, following successful harvests and distribution.