Agric commodity dealers oppose CBN’s circular on forex

The Federation of Agricultural Commodity Associations of Nigeria has kicked against some sections of the September 24, 2020 circular of the Central Bank of Nigeria that focused on “unfettered access” to foreign exchange in export proceeds domiciliary account.

The President, FACAN, Victor Iyama, told journalists in Abuja on Friday that the CBN would hamper the contributions of agricultural commodity dealers and other affected players by implementing some of the provisions of the circular.

He said, “The implementation of the contents of the circular in question will severely hamper our various businesses, thereby disrupting and possibly limiting the contribution we are making to our developing economy.

“By attempting to curtail the ‘unfettered access’ of exporters to their lawfully repatriated proceeds, it would be inadvertently stifling the competitiveness of our members and thus limiting the potential for our continued growth.”

Iyama added, “It is not in doubt that the CBN is tasked with the significant responsibility of maintaining financial and currency stability in our country, a task we appreciate is of a very complex and demanding nature.

“But we respectfully submit that the fact remains that the limitation of the business activities of exporters goes against the Federal Government’s transformation agenda and the promotion of non-oil export as this will negatively impact the successes achieved in the agricultural sector.”