From Reuters via Naira Metrics

Nigerian companies making anything from soap to tomato paste could run out of raw materials and be forced to shut down as Africa’s top oil producer has effectively banned the import of almost 700 goods to prevent a currency collapse.

Selected luxury items such as make-up or brown bread imported from Europe have become scarce in some shops as the central bank denies importers dollars, seeking to stem the fallout from a crash in vital oil revenues hammering Africa’s largest economy.

The central bank has restricted access to foreign currency to import 41 categories of items to stop a slide of the naira but the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) said this in fact amounted to about 680 individual items.

The foreign exchange bans are part of a long-term plan by President Muhammadu Buhari to encourage local manufacturing, but they run the risk of pushing the economy closer to recession after growth halved in the second quarter compared with the same period last year.

Many items on the central bank list – ranging from incense and toothpicks to plywood, glass and steel products — are not available in Nigeria in sufficient volumes.

Read more at Naira Metrics