The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, today expressed its decision to restrict the importation of milk into the country, saying the amount expended on importing the product is too high.
The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele who confirmed that the bank will restrict forex for the importation of milk, noted that about $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion is spent every year to import milk.
Emefiele made this known on Tuesday while briefing journalists at the end of the two-day meeting of the monetary policy committee of the bank.
He assured that the country is getting to the end of road of milk importation, vowing that the era of restriction of foreign exchange for the importation of milk is near.
The CBN Governor therefore expressed the readiness of the bank to provide incentives to herders and farmers who are ready to engage in milk production, through loan disbursement.
Emefiele assured of the commitment of the bank to improve on the economy growth of the country, while calling on the Commercial banks to abide by the deposit loan ratio guidelines of CBN, while describing them as financial intermediators to catalyse growth in Nigeria economy.
He appealed for the support of individuals and organisations to achieve the growth of the economy, while expressing optimism to see the inflation rate trending into a single digit from 11.22%.
