In a bid to boost local production of dairy products and encourage investment in cattle ranching, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is set to include milk and other dairy products among items on the foreign exchange restriction list.
According to The Guardian, Godwin Emefiele, CBN Governor has informed operators that milk and other dairy products are to be restricted from foreign exchange at both the official and parallel markets.
The ban is also aimed at reducing the bedeviling farmers/herders conflict, however, operators have expressed dismay saying the CBN's strategy to may intensify the fight for land between conflicting parties as the Federal Government moves towards adopting ranches with the suspended RUGA policy.
Operators disclosed that ranching in specific locations pose a threat to their businesses noting that the preferable model for Nigeria is the conversion of pastoralist breeding to cross-breeding, milk collection as well as introducing smallholder farming model.
The apex bank was advised to instead the existing five percent import duty on milk raw materials for dairy companies should stand saying that Nigeria doesn't have the capacity of producing milk products like powdered milk as it requires a drying tower and high energy usage among other utilities which are not available.
Nigerian cows produce less than one litre of milk daily, while cows in other climes produce 100 litres daily, according to Audu Ogbeh, former minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. He said $1.2 million worth of milk was being imported annually estimating.
Nigerians may have to pay more for milk and other dairy products if the CBN's plan actualizes with the threat of smuggling because the demand for the required amount of milk would surpass the supply.
