Rice millers raise alarm over influx of foreign rice in Nigerian markets

ONITSHA - Local rice millers and other stakeholders in rice production in Nigeria have raised the alarm over the influx and flooding of foreign rice in the Nigerian markets again, describing such an ugly development as a sabotage to the efforts of local rice producers who are about to stabilize.

One of the millers, Chief Akai Egwuonwu whose rice mill, Stine Industries Limited, based at Amichi in Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State and adjudged to be the current largest rice mill in the country, yesterday,  expressed disappointment that as local rice cultivators and millers had doubled their efforts to produce enough rice for local consumption and possibly for export in due course, it came as a surprise to them that foreign rice has filled up the market once again.

Egwuonwu, the Chief Executive Officer, CEO of the mill, recalled that they had made an earlier appeal to the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS to close the borders against rice smuggling and checkmate shipment of that food item which he acknowledged was heeded and controlled by the Customs, only to throw the gate open again for all manner of foreign rice to start coming into our market.

According to Egwuonwu, "It is a worrisome situation that Nigerian market is once again flooded with foreign rice. We thought that the Federal Government had stopped the importation of this rice to encourage local producers. What has happened now has eventually affected our productivity and our efforts, negatively. We do not even know whether the rice is officially imported or they are smuggled through the borders".

"And we cannot vouch for the quality of these consignments of rice coming in. The fact remains that the rice we produce in this country is of better quality with the NAFDAC certification. Ours is new and fresh. There is need for the Federal Government to stabilize the rice market in favour of the local manufacturers. That is the way to go, if we are actually serious about having food security and be self sufficient in food production in Nigeria", the miller submitted.

On whether it is not reasonable to import a measurable quantity to supplement local supply, Chief Egwuonwu declared: "if rice must be imported at all, it had to be brown rice, not the finished product so that millers in the country would process them for local consumption and more employment opportunities created". 

He stated that it did not make sense at all to continue to import finished and polished rice since this could be done in Nigeria, adding that the millers should rather be allocated with some quantities of the brown rice as the most ideal thing to do and not throwing the borders open or allowing all manner of rice to be imported.

He argued that the recent increase in the price of rice was as a result of hard time Nigeria is passing through and had nothing to do with rice production locally.

According to his analysis, Nigeria needed about four to five metric tons of rice annually and the quantity of rice produced locally for now stood at between 2.9 and 3 metric tons annually, leaving a staggering difference to hit the optimum level. 

He explained that the gap could be closed if the necessary support and encouragement would be given to the local producers, insisting that only brown rice could be imported.

Describing Anambra State as a shinning example in massive rice production, Egwuonwu asserted: "We all know that Governor Willie Obiano is trying so much in agricultural sector as in other sectors. His government has given enough support to rice production in Anambra state. The rice distributed to civil servants in the state last Christmas was cultivated in within the state and we are expecting a bumper harvest this year".