₦airaland Forum

The price of rice, which went down to about N65,000 per bag about six months ago, is on the upswing again, signifying more hard times for Nigerians.

Sunday Vanguard’s survey in some markets in Lagos shows that some brands of rice now sell for as high as N100,000 while others are a little lower than about N65. 000 Nigerians bought it before.

Dealers blame the development on the presumed end of the 150-day duty-free import window for essential food items as part of the Presidential Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan.

Meanwhile, millers are alleging that the presidential initiative, announced in July 2024, was conducted in secrecy as only a few firms allegedly benefited from the waivers to import duty-free grains, among which was rice.

“From what we know so far, (only) three big firms, including one in Lagos and another in Kaduna, are said to be beneficiaries of the waivers”, the Chairman, Board of Trustees, BoT, Competitive African Rice Forum, Nigerian Chapter, CARF-FSD Nigeria, CARF-FSD Nigeria, Peter Dama, told Sunday Vanguard.

Dama, who is also the President of the Rice Millers Association of Nigeria (RIMAN), also criticised short-term measures like waivers to crash prices as detrimental to local rice farmers, millers, processors and marketers, saying long-term measures to support them were what the nation needed to ensure food security.

Dire situation
Dealers in some markets in Lagos, who spoke to us about the increase in the price of the staple food, said they were frustrated about the development, describing it as a dire situation.

Mrs Bolatito Yunisa, a rice dealer at Daleko Market Lagos, lamented: “Honestly I can’t understand Nigeria system again. We are frustrated. We are not in business.

“A bag of short grain rice we saw going down to as low as 65k has gone as high as 85k, the long grain sells between 90k and as high as 100k and it’s still going up.

“We learnt that the temporary relief has ended. Really, is this how we will continue to live as a country?

“Where is the Nigeria rice? Millers are complaining of not seeing enough paddy. Many millers are no longer producing because of FX issues. Do we go hungry? I think there is confusion somewhere”.

On her part, Mrs Bukola Osagie, another rice dealer at Mile 12 International Market Lagos, said: “It’s not funny at all. I don’t even know how families are surviving. Price keeps flying up.

“Even as a dealer, we now sell in Derica measurement because many people cannot afford to buy bag of rice anymore. We share for them so that we can also make sales”.

At the Mile 12 International Market, a bag of 50kg short grain rice that was sold for between 60k and 65k, now sells for between 77k and 85k depending on the quality.

Long grain version sells in the market for between 85k and 90k.
The price of locally produced rice that sold in the market for between 70k and 72k has also increased.

Dama, speaking to Sunday Vanguard on those who got the waivers, said, “What we know is that the rice value chain actors, who laboured to build the rice processing industry, were the ones who proposed solutions to the government about the rising costs of rice through memos and advice.

“The solutions included import quotas and waivers to deter hoarding and make up the shortfall in primary production without hurting rice millers, processors, farmers or the agriculture value chain.

“Again, some rice value chain actors amongst us, who had strong networks in India, even got to the Indian government to drop its 20 per cent export duty on rice, so that Nigerians can benefit from lower prices.

“However, as we speak, none of the companies within our members were granted waiver licenses or quotas for brown rice imports.

“For those who got the waivers, we are sure of one big rice mill because the Chairman stated it during his recent visit to the president and he announced it at the Presidential Villa. “We have also heard unconfirmed reports of two other firms also being part of those who received the waivers.

Details
“We are not privy to the details.

“One of the firms, however, mentioned 200,000 tonnes of brown rice with a value of about $84 million. “The waivers are presidential waivers.

“There is supposed to be a process for issuance of these waivers, starting from the Ministry of Agriculture, Trade and investment and ending up in the Ministry of Finance.

Our members applied, but have not received any response from government to their applications”.

Dama said what has just happened serves as a reminder to consider the long-term implications of government decisions and to strive for more sustainable solutions whenever possible.

“Findings revealed that brown rice, under temporary waivers on import duties for essential food imports gulped a total of N1.9 trillion ($1.17billion) from Nigeria in the second half of 2024”, he said.

“2.4 million tonnes of brown rice were shipped to the country by Nigerian firms between July and December last year.

“Also, 10,000 tonnes of another rice ferried by African Swift in the first week of July 2025 are being offloaded at Lagos Port, after 32,000-tonnes shipment of brown rice from Thailand was facilitated in January 2025 by a logistics company, DUCAT, as importation of brown rice was permitted to help address rising food cost.

“Despite the imports, consumers in the country were still paying between N70,000 and N78,000 per 50 kg on smuggled parboiled rice from Benin Republic due to local production deficit.
“What is the end result? We are back to where we left and even worse.

“Nigeria has more than enough rice mills to feed the nation but the policy inconsistencies and selective import duty waivers has threatened the viability of Nigeria’s rice industry which has led to underutilization of productive capacity.

“Also, the high cost of FX for imports and high costs of shipment, inputs and other goods and services still persist.
“Local rice millers are struggling to compete with cheaper, subsidized imports.

“This has led to the collapse in demand for paddy rice, leaving farmers with unsold harvests and forcing many rice mills to shut down or scale back on operations.

“The major issue of insecurity following constant kidnapping of farmers still persists and high cost of farm inputs and services is also an issue because it equally affected the production output of our paddy which is the sole raw material for the production of rice.

“Electricity is not stable, we use generators in order to mill rice for at least eight hours, cost of fertilisers is high and even to cost of labourers. “You don’t expect rice millers to mill his rice without making profit.

“Yes, we can feed the nation but with the situation of things, Nigerians can’t get it cheaper unless a drastic measure is taken to address food insecurity that is biting hard on both the rich and the poor”.

“Although the intention behind this policy may have been commendable, aimed at alleviating the impacts of inflation and hunger affecting the nation, it has unintentionally sparked a new crisis that jeopardizes the very foundation of Nigeria’s food security. “Where were you when the Chairman of one of the beneficiaries went into the Villa to thank the president about the tons of rice he brought into the country that later led to the crash of the price of rice in the country?”

Smuggled rice
The RIMAN President also spoke on the consequence of rice smuggling into the country, saying it has continued and threatening local production of the staple food. “Smuggling is inherently illegal and shrouded in secrecy too. Thus there is no way to get a definite figure”, he said.

“Estimates, however, indicate that over 1,000,000 metric tonnes of finished rice has been smuggled from January to date into the country.

“The information we have is that the Ministry of Agriculture has submitted their vetted list to the Ministry of Finance containing who they believed to be genuine rice millers and rice processors in the country.

“But there is as yet no action taken by the Finance Ministry on the list submitted.

“There is complete silence from both ministries about the threat to the Nigerian rice milling industry, rice farmers, Nigerian agriculture ecosystem, food security and need for self-sufficiency in the rice sector. “There is no indication that the government is aware of the repercussions of its actions.

“And this is coming a few years after COVID-19 epidemic when Nigerian farmers fed this country and prevented starvation.
“We may have collapse of the achievements recorded in the rice value chain in Nigeria: Job losses; private and public investments are lost.

“Some of our members collected loans to invest in these ventures following appeal by government that we must eat what we produce.

habex005:
I beg where be your state. Make you no mislead us here.

jmoore:
We are still importing rice? I don't even know the name of the minister of Agriculture.

richiemcgold:
Rice is still between 65k to 70k here in my state. Foreign rice o

Vondata:
Tinubumetrics..... I still wonder how all these agbado guys that depend on monthly 30k while the economy plung into more hardship will survive after 2027.
If not for tribalism, why can't we vote potent person into power. Na wa o

Ikaeniyan0:
When I said Government should remove the ban on the importation of meat, so it will lead to fall in price, an ignorant jmoore was asking who will import it at 1600/$.

I wander who the people importing rice when government lifted the ban was getting the money to import it at 1600/$