According to the Central Bank of Nigeria, non-oil exporters brought $4.99 billion back into Nigeria in 2022.
This was made clear by Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, in his keynote address on Tuesday at the second RT-200 Bi-Annual Export Summit in Lagos.
According to the Nigerian News Agency, the summit’s theme is “RT Non-Oil Export:The So Far Journey
Emefiele stated that the figure for 2022 was higher than the $3.19 billion that was returned in 2021.
He stated, “Of this amount, only $1.97 billion qualified for the rebate program, and only $1.56 billion was sold at the Investors and Exporters (I & E) window or for own use.” Of this total, “only $1.97 billion” qualified for the program.
Emefiele said that the peak bank paid out about N81 billion in discounts to Nigerian exporters during the period.
This demonstrates the CBN’s determination to quickly accelerate the country’s export value chain.
I am aware that there have been calls to extend the rebate to all exporters and not just to those selling finished or semi-finished goods.
Even though there is some justification for this, one of the goals of the RT200 program is to help speed up industrialization and encourage exporters to make more money from their export businesses.
According to Emefiele, “economists have well-documented a positive relationship between export and industrialization.”
The lead representative noticed that commodity could change the monetary construction of nations from basic, slow-developing, and low-esteem exercises to additional useful exercises that appreciate more huge edges driven by innovation.
Emefiele stated that all hands should be on deck to enhance the value of exports to benefit the economy and exporters.
“Exporters are interested in adding value to the products they export in order to enable them to benefit from the program,” we have already received feedback from banks.
He stated, “We are happy that this is happening, and we encourage more exporters to find ways to add value to their exports so they can not only benefit from the scheme but also get better value for their exports.”
The governor of the CBN stated that the bank is dedicated to strengthening and expanding the supply of foreign currency into the market.
“You are exceedingly significant in this public clarion call to extend the stockpile of unfamiliar trade to the country.
“The Bankers Committee and the CBN are prepared to collaborate with exporters flying the Nigerian flag on the international market to achieve your objectives.
Through your bank, you can take advantage of the numerous financial programs that the CBN has developed to help businesses expand.
As a result, I appeal to this gathering to openly engage in conversation and offer novel ideas for investigating the non-oil export sector as a more long-term strategy for bringing more money into the economy and creating jobs to boost growth.
“This is the time for us all to collaborate in order to reposition Nigeria on a growth path by taking the economy’s diversification seriously.
There is no time like now to begin working in collaboration to ultimately benefit our country.We should arrange and team up on strategies to work on the monetary exercises in the non-oil area,” Emefiele said.
Emefiele had previously mentioned that the nation was confronted with numerous difficulties that were made worse by growing external and internal factors.
He stated that the economy’s excessive reliance on crude oil as a major source of foreign exchange earnings was a significant contributor to these difficulties.
To address some of these issues, he said, the CBN had been taking a number of non-conventional, supportive, and complementary macroeconomic policy actions to get the economy back on track for growth.
“The creation of a market-based financing mechanism to enhance the non-oil sector’s capacity to attract foreign exchange flows is one of the noblest recent concepts.
He stated, “Therefore, the CBN introduced the RT200 programme in February 2022 with the support of the Banker’s Committee, which is aimed at raising $200 billion in foreign exchange earnings over the next three to five years, strictly from non-oil exports.”
He stated that many developing nations have now prioritized export for their indigenous businesses.
He stated that extensive assistance programs and export-oriented trade strategies had been developed by several nations to encourage export expansion.
“Against this background, a number of developing nations started aggressive export promotion to boost productivity, earn more in foreign exchange, and make more money.
“Nigeria cannot be an exception, especially given her enormous endowment of natural and material resources.
“Subsequently, it isn’t just proper yet checks out to embrace this arrangement push that is all around secured on sound monetary approach and demonstrated financial hypothesis.
“At the beginning of this initiative, I promised that we would hold a conference twice a year to evaluate our performance.
“With great enthusiasm from all stakeholders, the first conference on the biannual Non-oil Export Summit was held in this hotel in June of this year.
It aimed to streamline the non-oil export procedure and eliminate some bottlenecks in the export value chain.
He went on to say, “This time, we will look at what we have achieved since the first summit, examine the result of the collaborative efforts by all stakeholders in the export value chain, and areas for further improvement and collaboration.” He said this in addition.
He thanked the Nigerian Ports Authority, the Nigeria Export Promotion Council, and Nigerian exporters for their contributions to the program’s success.
According to Emefiele, the nation had made some progress toward automating and digitizing trade processes.
“We have recorded some achievements in automation and digitisation of the trade processes,” he stated, “in terms of processes and infrastructure for improving trade performance.”
The Bankers Committee, captains of industry, and non-oil exporters attended the event, according to NAN.