Afrigather 
The more and more excessive value of manufacturing, transportation and different elements have induced the worth of 1 kilogramme of native rice to leap by 73.2 per cent in a single 12 months.
This occurred regardless of a multi-billion naira funding help of the Central Financial institution of Nigeria for the nation’s rice worth chain geared toward boosting manufacturing and stopping the importation of overseas rice.
Rice, a staple meals extensively consumed in Nigeria, has been rising in worth regardless of its manufacturing regionally. The commodity now sells for between N55,000 and N60,000 for a 50kg bag, relying on the world of buy.
Knowledge from the chosen meals costs watch report of the Nationwide Bureau of Statistics confirmed that the typical worth of 1kg of native rice rose by 73.2 per cent from N500.80 to N867.20 between November 2022 and November 2023.
When put next vis-a-vis with the worth of 1kg of overseas imported rice, the NBS famous a rise of 61.53 per cent from N704.13 to N1,137, throughout the identical interval.
It was additionally noticed that native rice was offered on the highest in Lagos State at the price of N1,122.42 regardless of the operation of the 32-tonne per hour Lagos Rice Mill in Imota, which produces the Eko Rice model and lowest at Kebbi State on the worth of N688.
Initially, through the inauguration and at different fora, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu boasted that the mill would deal with rice importation because it had an annual paddy requirement of over 240,000 tonnes to supply 2.5 million 50kg baggage of 50kg each year.
Commenting on the excessive worth of native rice, the Nationwide President of the All Farmers Affiliation of Nigeria, Kabir Ibrahim, blamed the excessive worth on inflation and its attendant heightened value of manufacturing, including that logistics, packaging and labour value additionally contributed considerably to the rise within the worth of native rice.
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Kabir, nonetheless, disputed the figures projected by the NBS, arguing that it’s unrealistic and never market primarily based.
He mentioned, “The price of manufacturing has at all times been very excessive because of numerous elements. Transportation is an element and it grew to become a really severe risk to pricing after the removing of the gasoline subsidy. If you’re shopping for a bowl of milled rice, the miller has to supply its personal energy, pay staff’ salaries and low cost the price of his equipment. He has to do packaging alongside transportation prices. so it’s undoubtedly going to be costlier than imported rice that’s not edible in Thailand.
“Two, the farm gauge worth is way completely different from the costs out there and three markets stand out and shouldn’t be used as parameter for pricing. The worth you get in Lagos, Abuja and Port-Harcourt, they don’t seem to be good indices. There may be already an apathy in opposition to imported rice as a result of folks have now realised the one with higher high quality and people international locations promoting it low-cost are doing so simply to eliminate it.
“Nonetheless, I feel a 70 per cent enhance by the NBS is just not sensible and too excessive. The bureau could also be finishing up these data however I inform you the costs are bit cheaper than what’s reported. For those who go to actual markets and ntoit synthetic ones. to place issues appropriately, there may be undoubtedly meals inflation and it’s skyrocketing but when we go by these commodities, we’re prone to be mendacity to our selves and most people.”
“The previous administration invested rather a lot in rice manufacturing and i believe they need to be applauded. We used to import rice to the tune of trillions however that has modified,” he added.
In a associated improvement, Nigeria and different international locations throughout the West Africa area are projected to see elevated costs of staple meals akin to rice, maize, millet, cereals, and so on in 2024.
That is in accordance with a report titled “West Africa Regional Provide and Market Outlook” printed collectively by the Meals and Agricultural Organisation, World Meals Program, and others.
