The naira has lost 34 percent of its value in just 10 months, falling from N710 to the dollar on Wednesday in the black market, a difference of N280 from the official rate.
For manufacturers who used to be able to receive money from the official market to import their raw materials and packaging products, this is a crushing issue.
The naira reached a high of N444 in the Investor & Exporter FX market before closing at N430 to the dollar. On Wednesday, the I&E market saw a total turnover of $126.69m.
The President, of the Association of Bureaux de Change Operators of Nigeria, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, according to Punch on Wednesday evening said that “the rate closed at N710/$.”
See Why Dollar Has Different Rates In Nigeria [VIDEO]
But why does the dollar have different rates in Nigeria? See reasons.
“Economic and financial expert, Mr. Tunde Olatuni explains why we have different dollar rates in Nigeria.
“One of the major challenges in the Nigeria Foreign exchange is the fact that over the years it’s been very difficult to the convergence of our exchange rate so you have the black market rate different from that of the official window.
“Because the official window has not been able to adequately take care of the demands of Nigerians in terms of foreign exchange. A whole lot of demand has now shifted to the black market.
“Despite the fact that the official window gives you the dollar at a cheaper rate, we cannot take care of the needs of the people so a whole lot of Nigerians result to the black market to make their demands.
“This is a function of the fact that the inflow of dollars into the economy has dropped drastically and this is a reflection of the fact that Nigeria is not a producing nation in terms of what we need to put in the international market to help foreign exchange.
“At the same time, the naira is not also in high demand because we are not producing anything that is enough to make people want to demand our food and currency.
“When you look at the demand and supply end of it, which is a major factor in determining foreign exchange, we have a deficiency in supply and then our demand is rising on a daily base as a country.
“So when you have this gap, it explains why you have that drop in your foreign exchange.” He added.
See the video below for more!
