Nigeria’s zero import duty on essential food items, meant to lower inflation, is having big problems getting started. This could stop the plan from working well. President Bola Tinubu said in May 2024 that there would be 150 days when no fees are charged for importing food, but people involved say there’s a lot of confusion and slow progress in making this happen.
The policy isn’t working well because different government groups aren’t working together, the rules for how to do it aren’t clear, there are farming and infrastructure issues, and prices and exchange rates are going up. Since President Tinubu started, Nigeria’s price increase rate has gone up a lot, reaching 33.95% in May 2024, from 22.4%. Even though it went down a little in July and August, it went back up to 32.7% in September.
Lucky Amiwero, President of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, is upset because it’s not clear how the plan is being put into action. “The government hasn’t responded to our request for information about the implementation date. We only got a response from the Federal Inland Revenue Service,” he mentioned. Amiwero pointed out serious problems for businesses that might have to close because of rising costs.
Afrinvest Research doubted if the policy would work well, saying that just protecting local industries might not give the best results unless they also fix issues in the local farming system. The Nigerian Customs Service calculated that the government could lose N188.4 billion in income during the five months this policy is in place.
