The Kaduna Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, KADCCIMA, on Sunday, February 28, said investors in various sectors of the economy were weighing the negative impact of the scarcity of foreign exchange on their businesses.
The Chamber noted that within six months, members of the Organized Private Sector lost about N1.46 trillion.
This is coming a day after the Federal Government restated its commitment to stabilize the country’s currency against the dollar.
Disclosing information on the N1.46 trillion loss at the ongoing Kaduna International Trade Fair, the President of KADCCIMA, Abdul-Alimi Bello, said the loss was occasioned by stalled business activities due to inadequate supply of foreign exchange as a result of Federal Government’s policy on foreign exchange restriction.
He said: “We are concerned about the inclusion of essential raw materials, which are not available locally and do not have local substitutes, in the list of items not valid for forex because of the dire consequences of factory closures and attendant unemployment that would result.”
“Our view is that such items can be included only after allowing investors ample time to backward integrate and generate these items locally. To avoid the risk of industrial closures, we plead that policy should be revisited,” he said.