The Federal Government of Nigeria has unveiled a plan to reduce inflation in the country through tariff and import duty suspension for food, raw materials for production, pharmaceuticals, inputs for agriculture production and other fiscal measures.
The Minister of Finance, Wale Edun disclosed this in a recent presentation of the proposed Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan, ASAP.
According to the Minister, the plan which was recently presented to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was designed to end Nigeria’s economic hardship.
This comes as Nigeria’s headline and food inflation increased to 33.69 percent and 40.53 percent, respectively.
Edun proposed this as a solution, explaining that the fiscal measures, when implemented, will take Nigeria out of the woods.
The document partly reads, “The import duty and other tariffs on the following items are hereby suspended for six months: staple food items, raw materials and other direct inputs used for manufacturing, inputs for agriculture production including fertilizers, seedlings, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, poultry feeds, flour and grains.
“Value Added Tax, where applicable, is hereby suspended on the following items for the rest of the year 2024: Basic food items and semi-processed, staple food items such as noodles and raw material inputs for the manufacturing
of food items, electricity and public transportation, agricultural inputs and produce, and pharmaceutical products”
Reacting to the proposal, Muda Yusuf, the Director of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise said the relaxation of import duty as contained in the ASAP would calm raging inflation in Nigeria.
“The proposed Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan is a laudable proposition coming from the Finance Minister. It addresses many of the burning economic issues bothering real sector investors.
“The plan contains robust and comprehensive fiscal policy measures that stakeholders in the real economy had clamored for over the past year. It addresses the concerns of investors on high interest rates, high cost of cargo clearance at the ports, and high import duty regimes.
“The relaxation of import duties on critical raw materials for manufacturers would calm the raging inflationary pressures in the economy, especially food inflation.
“The fiscal measures reflect the responsiveness of the administration to the concerns of investors in the real economy. We urge for expeditious implementation of the plan, once approved by the president,” he said.