₦airaland Forum

The Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, has pledged to further lower the prices of rice and other food items, which he said have already decreased over the past year.

He commended President Bola Tinubu for granting waiver on imported food items, saying that his “foresight” helped crash food prices in the country.

In July 2024, the Tinubu administration announced the suspension of customs duties on imported food items to stem food inflation.

Speaking to State House Correspondents after meeting with President Tinubu on Thursday, Rabiu said BUA Foods keyed into that policy and was able to import quite a lot of wheat, maize and rice.

“At the time food prices were really very high last year. For example, the price of rice was about N100,000 or thereabout per 50 kilo bag. The flour was about N80,000 per bag and maize was about N60,000 per 50 kilo bag, and pasta above N20,000 per Carton. So what we did was, we keyed into that policy and BUA was able to import quite a lot of wheat, maize and rice.

“And the moment the shipment started coming, we started processing, we crushed the prices of some of these commodities. And today I’m happy to inform you that the price of rice is about N60,000 from what it was last year at N110,000. Flour is today N55,000 Naira per 50 kilo bag.

“Maize is about N30,000. And this happened because of Mr President’s foresight and vision by introducing that one-off duty waiver for a period of six months, and with that, we’ve been able to bring down the prices of these commodities,” Rabiu said.

The billionaire businessman further explained the causes of the food price increases and how the President’s policy helped to curb the trend.

“So, what has been happening and a lot of people probably don’t know this, is that Nigerians, a lot of companies in Nigeria usually buy a lot of paddy. That is rice paddy. Rice Paddy is what you use to process rice.

So, the moment the harvest season starts, a lot of people will now buy a lot of these paddy and hold it for a period of three to four months. The moment the season finishes, then the price will double. So a lot of people don’t know that, but that has always been the problem.

“That does not really in any way affect the farmer, because the farmer is getting his four to N500,000 per ton of paddy.

But the people that are buying and holding for three to four months, once the season finishes, it goes back up to N800,000. Hence why you are getting N110,000 per bag.

“So, what that intervention did at the time when we brought in was to create an issue for those hoarders. Because the moment we imported, we were selling, and those orders had a lot of paddy, they could not sell, and the price now came down, and it is still down. So a lot of those holders are actually crying now and losing money.”

He said that the Rice Millers Association has come together to address the issue of hoarding by some companies, adding that the association will not allow any of its members to hoard rice.

“What we are doing as rice Millers is that we want to ensure that rice Millers are not buying and hoarding Paddy, although at the end of the day, it’s quite difficult to stop that. But what is happening is that once they know that there is rice availability imported, because BUA has imported enough rice to last us until the end of the year, for example.

“So, they know that if they try to hoard rice and try to take it up, Bucha is there and will crash the price. So I am hopeful that at the end of the day, the price of rice going forward is not going to go any higher than what it is today.

“And I’m sure as soon as the season starts, the farmers will get the price they’ve always gotten, and the price of rice is going to stay the same, because people will be wary of hoarding, because if they hoard it is going to be a problem for them, because they might lose money. So that is on rice.

“And again, let me use this opportunity to thank His Excellency, for his foresight, for his vision, because I actually didn’t see that. I didn’t know that that was going to work, but we keyed in.

We imported and we have supported, and now prices are down. So that is what we did, and we will continue to do to support the efforts of the government to ensure that food prices continue to come down. And I’m sure prices will come down.

Mushmush:
This is a welcome development. Please crash it more. We need the prices of commodities to go lower

TimeManager:
Say Jagaban.. Hoarders in trouble. Inflation is down to 23% and will keep going down gradually. Common masses are the real enemies of themselves, when Government gave them the opportunity to produce foods for the country, they abused it and rather made the food prices more costly while enriching themselves. Government then turned to the top echelon of the society to import and produce, even gives them import waivers, the average farmers are now crying. Sorry but not sorry.


-Kiss the truth!

saintopus:
We need a further drop in price, considering that the minimum wage in the country is N70,000.
As a young civil servant in 2011 in Fed Min of Health my salary was N120,000.
The price of rice for 50Kg was N8000.
This means that with the exchange rate of N1500 to a dollar and inflation at 23% for me to live the same standard of life I was living in 2011, I need to earn a minimum of N1.3 million monthly, meaning workers are now poorer than in 2011.

TimeManager:
https://www.channelstv.com/2025/05/15/we-will-keep-crashing-rice-prices-bua-chairman-rabiu-warns-hoarders/

bilms:
FG’s agricultural imports policy ‘suicidal’ — Group

The Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro) has criticized the Federal Government’s continued importation of subsidized foreign agricultural commodities, warning that the policy is crippling Nigeria’s agro-industry, discouraging investment, and pushing the country toward food insecurity.

In a statement by the executive director of the group, Mallam Abdulrazaq Hamzat, he condemned the government’s approach, describing it as suicidal.

While the government celebrates the decline in food prices, the group argued that the trend is artificial and dangerous, driven by cheap foreign imports subsidized by other nations, a move it said undermined Nigerian farmers and threatens national economic stability.

“It is shocking that while other nations subsidize their agricultural industries to create jobs and sustain food production, Nigeria is doing the opposite, importing cheap food to destroy its own agriculture. This is a suicidal economic policy that must stop immediately”, he said

“The real victory is achieving food sufficiency through strong local production, not artificially low prices from foreign imports. If this policy continues, Nigerian agriculture will be permanently crippled, and the country will become entirely dependent on foreign nations for survival”.

https://tribuneonlineng.com/fgs-agricultural-imports-policy-suicidal-group/

desiredhome:
Same thing they said about Cement, that made cement rise from 5k to over 10k last two years..... Till today...

Deltafirstson:
Although the pump price of fuel was N197 when President Bola Tinubu took over on May 29, 2023, the product now sells for N617 per litre – less than two months after.

In his inaugural address, Tinubu announced that subsidy was gone, fulfilling a promise that all leading presidential candidates made during the campaign.

However, pump price of fuel hit N537 per litre days after Tinubu ended subsidy.

On Tuesday, the price climbed further to N617, a development that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) attributed to “market forces”.

Nigerians have been lamenting the hardship occasioned by fuel price hike. Amid the lamentation, a video where Tinubu campaigned to slash the price of fuel went into circulation.

Checks by Daily Trust affirmed the authenticity of the video uploaded on the YouTube page of Channels Television.

At his campaign rally in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, on January 25, 2023, Tinubu spoke on a number of issues, but those of fuel scarcity and naira redesign made the headlines.

However, Tinubu who spoke in Yoruba language, also assured the crowd that though people were saying petrol price would hit N200, it would be reviewed downward under him.

“The great Nigerian youths, the great Nigerian students, the confident Nigerian youths. This is a revolution. This election is a revolution. They are plotting, but they will fail. They said fuel price will increase and reach N200 per litre. Go and relax, we will bring it down,” he had said in the 7th minute of the video.

King Wasiu Ayinde Marshall, a Fuji musician who performed at the rally, interrupted the president’s speech with chants as the crowd cheered.

On the campaign podium with the president were Vice-President Kashim Shettima; Pa Bisi Akande, interim National Chairman of the APC; Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President; Senator Gbenga Daniel; among other bigwigs of the ruling party.

Tinubu went further to say Nigerians would defy the acute fuel scarcity at the time and trek to cast their votes.

“The great Nigerian youths, the great Nigerian students, the confident Nigerian youths. This is a revolution. This election is a revolution. They are plotting, but they will fail. They said fuel price will increase and reach N200/N500 per litre. Go and relax, we will crash the prices,” he had said.

https://dailytrust.com/breaking-video-of-tinubu-campaigning-to-crash-fuel-

he had said in the 7th minute of the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JH8CC_JdUA

lexy2014:
when did he previously crash prices?