CBN Governor Emefiele Speaks On The Restriction Of Forex Exchange For Milk Importation

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has revealed the plans of the Apex bank to restrict foreign exchange for the importation of milk.

Naija News understands that Mr Emefiele made this known on Tuesday while addressing journalists at the end of the two-day meeting of the monetary policy committee of the bank.

Emefiele who gave the reasons for the restriction and why the bank retained the MPR at 13.50 %, said that owing to the $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion spent yearly on milk importation, the bank intends to provide loan facilities for backward integration and milk production in Nigeria.

“It is correct that the CBN intends to restrict foreign exchange for the importation of milk. We believe that milk is one of those products that can be produced in Nigeria.

“We have seen the importation of milk in Nigeria before many of us were born; for over 60 years, Nigeria has been importing milk. Today the import of milk stands at between $1.2 to $1.5 billion, that is very high for import into the country.

“Given that it is a product we are very convinced can be produced in the country, what does it take to produce milk? Get a cow and give it plenty of water to drink, eat a lot of grass and positioned in a place without roaming around, that cow gets fat and we can get milk out of it,” he stated.