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LAGOS - West African economic giant Nigeria has lifted a ban on imports of textiles and five other goods from neighbouring Benin Republic, Nigerian officials said on Monday.
LAGOS - West African economic giant Nigeria has lifted a ban on imports of textiles and five other goods from neighbouring Benin Republic, Nigerian officials said on Monday.
Nigeria's junior finance minister Nenadi Usman announced the lifting of the ban a joint news conference she addressed with Benin's minister of trade and industry, Fatiou Akplogan, in Abuja at the weekend.
The items which are now allowed into Nigeria across three land borders are textiles, water, cotton seeds, vegetable oil, palm kernel and palm seedlings, they said.
Nigeria, the region's economic powerhouse, banned a wide range of imported products to protect its local industry and shore up the value of the national currency, the naira, which has continued to depreciate because of Nigerians' penchant for consumption of foreign products.
Last year, Nigeria's main land border with Benin at Seme was closed for a week following an upsurge in cross-border crime.
It took an appeal and assurance by President of Benin Mathieu Kerekou that his government would intensify efforts to curb cross-border crime before Seme was reopened.
Benin depends largely on the Nigerian market for its economic survival.
AFP