Investors and members of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in the agricultural sector have called on the new honourable Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbe, to help in the reversal of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) forex policy that included one of their most important raw materials; Crude Palm Oil (CPO) on the ‘not valid for forex’ list.
Speaking in a forum with industrialists, MAN president, Dr. Frank Udemba Jacobs, said that forex should be made available for genuine manufacturers that use CPO as a major raw material for production of end goods such as noodles, biscuits, cosmetics, etc.
According to him, the decision by the apex bank has threatened the existence of several manufacturing companies who rely heavily on crude palm oil as a major raw material for production. “These companies have invested heavily in plants and machinery worth several billions of dollars in the country and what the CBN is indirectly telling them is that it could not be bothered with the challenges this policy is posing to our members”.
