CBN Offers Credit Facility for Milk Production

• CBN Offers Credit Facility for Milk Production

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Monday said the end is near for milk importation in Nigeria, therefore, the apex bank has made provision for investors and farmers interested milk production to access credit facility.

In a tweet put out by the bank and signed by Godwin Emefile, the central bank said: “We are determined to make milk production in Nigeria a viable economic proposition. If you need a loan to acquire land, do artificial insemination, grow grass or even provide water, we will give you. We are getting to the end of the road of milk importation in Nigeria.”

The central bank had announced its plan to ban importers of milk from accessing forex through the apex bank to further ease pressure on the foreign reserves and deepen job creation in Nigeria.

According to Godwin Emefile, the governor, CBN, “We wish to reiterate that we remain ready and able to provide the needed finance to enable investors who genuinely want to engage in milk production.

“We are saying that the amount we spend on the importation of milk in this country is too high, we need to reduce it.”

The announcement received wide criticisms as experts questioned Nigeria’s readiness for such move.

Presently, Nigeria’s milk production stood at 700,000MT per year, while demand is 1.3 million MT, leaving a deficit of 600,000MT. Quality of local production compared to foreign imports is another issue raised.

CBN, however, responded to some of the criticisms, saying it does not have the power to ban the importation of milk into the country. It merely announced a possible restriction of importers’ access to forex. Meaning, importers henceforth would have to source for their own forex from the black market.

“For the avoidance of doubt, milk importation is not banned. Indeed, the CBN has no such power. All we will do is to restrict the sale of forex for the importation of milk from the Nigerian foreign exchange market.”