BUSINESS DAY
Nigeria may see the cost of its rice imports for the 2023/24 marketing year outstrip the cumulative N1.08 trillion spent under the Anchor Borrowers (ABP) – a scheme that provides farmers with critical funds and inputs needed to boost local production in eight years.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), in its 2023 grain report on Nigeria, projected that the country will import 2.3 million metric tons (MMT) of parboiled rice in 2024, a 10 percent increase from the 2.1 projected this year.
Currently, a metric ton of parboiled rice sells for $568 per ton, data from the International Grain Council shows. This means that Nigeria may spend a whopping $1.31billion importing rice in 2024 (2.3MMT multiply by $568 per ton).
Using an exchange rate of N900/$, the country will spend N1.2 trillion ($1.31bn) to import parboiled rice, which exceeds the total funding for ABP by N100 billion.
“Insecurity in farming areas, high input prices, and inadequate mechanisation favours rice imports over the possibility of encouraging more production due to higher prices,” said the report.
“In addition, increasing demand for foreign rice coupled with high production costs has made local rice uncompetitive, especially in terms of quality,” it added.
In October, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) restored the 43 items, including rice, it prohibited from access to foreign exchange (FX), after eight years.
The move analysts say will further increase the importation of rice next year owing…
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