DAILY POST
The scarcity of paddy rice, which is processed into finished rice, has sparked fear of food insecurity in Kano, as rice now sells at N40,000 per bag.
Before the scarcity, in Kano, rice was sold at less than N30,000. However, checks by our correspondent show that the commodity even sells for as much as N42,000 per bag in some areas.
Rice millers in Kano, who initially bought a tonne of paddy for N330,000 in June, now buy the same quantity at N400,000 to meet the high demand.
It is feared that the rise in the cost of local rice may give rise to a demand for foreign rice, nullifying the relative success the Federal Government has recorded in local rice production in the last eight years.
Speaking with journalists on the ugly trend at the weekend, Chairman, Northern Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Alh. Dalhatu Abubakar revealed the development is already affecting millers’ production in the state.
Abubakar, who is also the Chairman, Al-Hamsad Integrated Rice Mill, lamented the resultant implication of the paddy scarcity would, among other things, include an increase in the price of rice and an increase in the activities of smugglers.
