The federal government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria, has raised the exchange rate for cargo clearance from N952 per dollar to N1.356 per dollar.
The government in November 2023 raised the exchange rate for cargo clearance from N757 per dollar to N783 per dollar, representing a 3.4 per cent increase. Barely one month later, it raised it from N783/$ to N952/$ in December.
Now, it has been raised again from N952 per dollar to N1.356 per dollar.
The Nigeria Customs Service has started using the new rate in its dealings.
A member of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, Remilekun Sikiru, in a chat with Punch, decried the increase.
Sikiru said, “How do we explain this? From N952/$ to N1.4/$ as of Friday morning with about N404 increase?
"It’s quite unfortunate that the prices of goods and commodities will automatically increase. Importation would further decrease and depreciate, vehicle prices would skyrocket again.
“Since this unification of a thing, the government has refused to look inward and critically into the maritime industry as regards importation and exportation."
He lamented that the sector had been neglected and things were getting worse by the day. "The question now is, how would freight forwarders and customs brokers agents cope with this new rate?”
Also speaking, an agent, Ben Anya, said that they woke up to the new rate, “which was before now set at N951 per dollar.”
Anya explained that with the latest increase in the exchange rate, the cost of clearing would increase.
“And this would also affect the cost of goods in the market. It would also lead to a drop in importation,” he said.
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