The significant drop in Nigeria’s revenue as a result of the slide in crude oil prices may compel the federal government to impose further restrictions on importation of certain agricultural products, a report has stated.
According to report, some of the agricultural items, according to the report may include palm oil, nuts and rubber goods. This prediction was made by Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank) in its 2015 macroeconomic outlook.
Oil revenue currently accounts for more than 75 per cent of government’s revenue and close to 90 per cent of foreign exchange income.
Given that weak oil prices are expected to prevail till mid-2015, the financial institution said it expects forex supply to suffer a significant decline.
In the first two quarters of 2014, Nigeria recorded year-on-year gross domestic product (GDP) rates above six per cent in the midst of declining worldwide growth trends.
This trend continued in the third quarter as Nigeria recorded year-on-year GDP growth of 6.23 per cent driven by non-oil sector which grew by 7.5 per cent.