Imported rice has flooded Nigerian markets despite
the ban imposed on the product by the federal
government to encourage local production and self-
sufficiency, Daily Trust reports. Findings have
revealed that the recent reopening of some land
borders has aggravated the illegal importation of the
commodity.
Stakeholders in the value chain, including local
processors and growers, have expressed dismay over
the development, saying it would reverse the gains
recorded in the last few years.
However, some observers have blamed millers for
mopping up paddy rice and processing it in
piecemeal, to attract more profit, thereby sabotaging
the effort of the federal government in making rice
affordable to Nigerians.
President Muhammadu Buhari had in December,
2020, directed that the four borders that were closed
in 2019 be reopened. Some traders told our
correspondents that even while the border closure
lasted, the commodity was a common sight in
almost every shop.
The new trend is now a source of worry not only to
processors who are struggling to compete with their
counterparts abroad in terms of quality, but also
growers who are apprehensive that if the trend
continues, they may be forced out of business.
Situation in states Lagos
Reports from Lagos along the Mile 2 Badagry
Expressway up to the Daleko Rice Market revealed a
remarkable presence of foreign rice. The product is
being illegally imported from the neighbouring Benin
Republic before being repackaged for distribution to
different parts of the country.
The centres for rebagging are opposite the Adeniran
Ogunsanya College of Education (ACOED), Iyana-Era;
the Igbolerin Junction by Jolag; and the Alaba Rago
Market, all along the Mile 2- Badagry Expressway.
At these centres, smugglers, mainly women, bring in
foreign rice in small bags which they repackage in
bigger ones for onward distribution.
At the Igbolerin Junction, one of the smugglers told
our correspondent, who disguised as a customer, that
they ferried the rice from Benin Republic into Nigeria
through unapproved routes near the Seme Border
after paying tokens to urchins known as “crossers”.
The smuggler explained that, “It is the crossers who
will then bring the rice to J-5 Park at Seme, from
where they are handed over to their owners. At J-5
Park, owners are charged by the bus drivers
according to quantity. It costs at least N2,000 to
transport a bag of rice from Seme to the Alaba Rago
Market.”
At the Rago market, which is a big distribution point
for foreign rice, merchants said the profit they got far
outweighed what they got from local rice and our
reporter saw foreign rice in bags with local names
aimed to beat customs officers.
According to a Ketu-based marketer, Khadija Amar,
Nigerian rice is no longer selling, saying many people
have lost interest in consuming it.
Amar said, “A bag of local rice which we ought to sell
at over N20,000 is now being sold at N17,500. Some
of us have N3,000 shortage, and for others, it’s
N4,000. So we prefer to deal in foreign rice. Another
dealer, Miss Ibeh Mary Abigail, said, “We have foreign
rice everywhere in the market because it moves
faster than local rice.”
Rivers
Reports from Port Harcourt in Rivers State showed
that many markets and shops now have large
quantities of foreign rice in stock. At the Mile 1, Mile
3, Borokiri, New Road, Oyigbo and Eleme markets,
foreign brands of rice are gradually taking over the
markets and are openly displayed without any
challenge.
A trader at Mile 1 who pleaded anonymity, said the
rice was brought in from Lagos and Calabar.
Plateau
In Plateau State, our correspondent who visited the
Yankwalli Market reported that foreign rice had
flooded the market with many shop owners
displaying it unchallenged.
Aminu Mubi, a dealer in the market, told Daily Trust
that although there was foreign rice in the market
even before the ban on border was lifted, the product
was flooding the market now and threatening local
rice.
Mubi explained that, “When the border was closed
the price of a bag reached N27,000, but it has
dropped to N23,000, and there is a possibility that it
will drop further.”
Kano
In some supermarkets in Kano, foreign rice is now
freely on display unlike in previous months, but the
price has dropped. At the Singer Commodity Market,
a 50kg bag of foreign rice is now selling at N23,500
instead of N26,000.
A dealer at the market, Sanusi Hassan, said, “The
local rice is now endangered as people prefer to buy
foreign rice which is sold at almost the same price as
the local rice.”
Hassan added that, “Government must do something
to salvage the situation and protect the local
industry.”
Abuja
A visit to some markets in Abuja indicated that
foreign rice is still sold in large quantities with traders
displaying it outside their stalls.
A trader at the Wuse Market, Agatha Ezekiel, said she
sold a bag of foreign rice at N26,000 and local rice
at N19,500.
Katsina
In Katsina, our reporter observed an influx of foreign
rice, but some of the traders said it had nothing to do
with the recent border reopening, as Nigeria’s border
with Niger Republic at Jibia, Kwangwalam and
Mai’adua were still closed.
A trader, Tasiu Sani, said, “All our goods are old
stock and that is what we are selling.”
Daily Trust gathered that the goods come in
piecemeal on daily basis through bush paths under
the name “Hatsin Hajiya” in which a bag is divided
into three to pass checkpoints.
Growers lament
Some rice farmers said they watched with dismay the
resurfacing of foreign rice in many markets across
the country despite the effort to sustain local drive.
Abdullahi Lapai from Niger State attributed the ugly
situation to the activities of smugglers, who he said
were gradually having a free time following the
border reopening. Lapai said, “If the local processors
are unable to sell their produce, it will affect the price
of paddy, which will in turn discourage local farmers
from more production.”
The National President of the All Farmers Association
of Nigeria (AFAN), Kabir Ibrahim, said bringing in
foreign rice would draw the country back from the
gains made so far.
Consignment of smuggled rice seized by men of the Nigerian
Customs Service in Lagos
According to him, smuggling does not really happen
often unless it is aided by law enforcement agents
and the citizenry. Ibrahim said, “If there is any
contraband displayed in a shop and it is freely sold,
then it goes beyond government and the officers
charged with border control. The entire citizenry must
stand against it for it to stop.”
Processors on edge
A rice processor, Alhaji Nasiru Yahaya, raised alarm
that many local processors were in shock following
the influx of foreign rice, adding that the situation was
affecting local producers.
Alhaji Yahaya further said most of the processors
borrowed money to invest when the government
announced the country’s rice sufficiency drive.
He explained that, “This is not about us only, millions
of direct and indirect jobs will be lost if local brands
are relegated to the previous position.”
A small holder miller in Sabon Wuse, a Niger State
community along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway, Nuru
Jiya, said the volume of local rice sales had reduced
drastically following the presence of foreign rice in
many shops.
‘Nemesis catching up with processors’
An agriculturist, Ibrahim Kunle, said although there
was the need for relevant authorities to check any
form of smuggling, local rice processors should get
no one’s sympathy, noting that they were the
architects of the current hike in the price of local
brands. Kunle alleged that, “We all know when some
of these processors are deliberately causing artificial
scarcity of local brands with the aim of hiking price.
“What they do is to mop up paddy from farmers and
store them instead of milling them and selling. This is
causing serious concerns even to the government.”
Another agriculturist, Mallam Audu Ishak, said, “These
people will go and take money from the government,
promising heaven, but let me tell you, they are part of
the problem, and thank God government is now
realising that.”
A stakeholder who craved anonymity, said
government was being careful in giving money to
some of the processors because of the way some of
them betrayed agreements.
Although these claims against the processors have
not been confirmed, a source at the Federal Ministry
of Agriculture told our reporter that government was
concerned about the continued rise in the price of
local rice despite the huge effort and resources being
committed to rice production in the country.
The Director General of the Rice Processors
Association of Nigeria (RIPAN), Andy Ekwelem,
promised to get back to our reporter when a call was
put across to him but did not up to the time of filing
this report.
What should be done – Experts
Experts in the sector want relevant security outfits to
intensify border patrol to further check the activities
of smugglers.
Mathew Inawole, an agric economist, said effective
border control would go a long way in reducing the
volume of foreign rice crossing into the country,
adding that there should be a total clampdown on
those selling the foreign brands as they were
contraband.
Mallam Abdullahi Baba, an agriculturist, said
government should orientate the citizens on the
dangers involved in eating some smuggled items.
Customs react
The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Federal
Operations Unit (FOU) of the Nigeria Customs Service
(NCS), Zone A, Theophilus Sunita, in a telephone
interview, said the zone, as an enforcement unit of
NCS in charge of Lagos and Ogun states, had always
been on top of its game.
Sunita said several thousands of bags of foreign rice
had been seized by operatives from the zone from
diehard smugglers.
He added that, “However, we rely on members of the
public to avail us with useful and timely information.”

https://dailytrust.com/despite-importation-ban-foreign-rice-floods-nigerian-markets
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If price of locally made rice will reduce drastically... Foreign
rice will not flood Nigeria market