Vehicle importation dropped by 45% in the first quarter of 2024 due to forex challenges – Customs Boss.

Says that the Forex crises not only affected car importation but also regular imports like raw materials. 

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has disclosed that vehicle importation dropped by 45 per cent in the First Quarter (January – March) of 2024 due to foreign exchange challenges in the country.

The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, stated this during a recent interview with Arise News Channel.

“It affected car dealers. We had as much as a 45 per cent decrease in the volume of cars that were brought into Nigeria in that period. And they were not the kind of cars that fetched optimum revenue for the customs.”

The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service noted that the Forex challenges not only affected car importation but also regular imports like raw materials.

“Not only cars, but even regular imports were also affected because people could no longer import raw materials as they wanted and the volatility did not allow them to plan for tomorrow,” the CGC stated.

“But we see some relative degree of stability in the second quarter because there are lots of discussions going on. Some at the level of the National Assembly, most of them spearheaded by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, bring on the stakeholders that are involved together, to ensure that we achieve stability.”

It will be recalled that Adeniyi had earlier clarified that the agency doesn’t willfully raise duties paid on imports, but only aligned with the new foreign exchange (FX) rate prescribed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).