On June 23, 2015, the Central Bank of Nigeria issued Circular TED/FEM/FPC/GN/01/010, declaring 41 imported product categories ineligible for foreign exchange in the official market. Subsequent addenda raised the count to 43, including milk and dairy products in 2019, imports the CBN said were consuming between $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion in foreign exchange every year. The list ran from rice, cement, tomato paste, textiles and steel products to toothpicks. Importers were never banned from bringing those goods into Nigeria. They were only barred from buying official dollars to pay for them.