CBN pledges to support oil palm revival, as new economy set to emerge

 The Central Bank of Nigeria on Friday said it will do everything within its powers to support the revitalisation of the oil palm sector in Nigeria in order to provide jobs for the citizens.
CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, made the pledge in Abuja during a meeting between the bank’s management and oil palm value chain stakeholders to agree on a road map to resolve the challenges in the oil palm value chain in Nigeria.

 He expressed concern at the contrasting fortunes of Nigeria from being the largest producer of palm oil worldwide in the late 1950s and 1960s, to becoming a net importer of the commodity from the 1980s to date.
According to him, Nigeria currently lags behind in a distant fifth position in world production, behind countries, that many years ago, sent emissaries to Nigeria to learn production techniques and to get their first seedlings.
A statement from the bank said Emefiele also decried the practice where huge amounts were spent to import items that could ordinarily be produced locally.
He  stressed the need for all stakeholders to collaborate and restore the glory days to the oil palm sector in the country.

While recalling the recent policy of the CBN that excluded 41 items from being procured with foreign exchange from the Nigerian foreign exchange markets, he reiterated that the policy measure was introduced to help conserve the nation’s foreign reserves, facilitate the resuscitation of domestic industries and improve on employment generation.
He said the CBN decided to take the lead and play a major role in the resuscitation of the oil palm sector and decided to take a bold step and include palm kernel, palm oil products and vegetable oils in the exclusion list of items not valid for foreign exchange at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange window.
Emefiele also reiterated that the decision taken by the CBN to include palm oil products in the exclusion list was taken after a thorough analysis of the sub sector.