By Abubakar Yunusa
The Nigerian government has reportedly received a shipment of 32,000 tons of brown rice from Thailand as it seeks to alleviate the impact of rising food costs.
According to a Bloomberg report, the consignment — the first in a decade — arrived in Lagos and was facilitated by Ducat, a maritime logistics and delivery company.
The logistics company told the publication that rice from Thailand was shipped after the federal government issued a tariff moratorium on wheat, corn, rice, and other food crops last year.
“Nigeria has been working hard to find solutions to broaden and strengthen its food supply accessibility,” Adrian Beciri, Ducat chief executive officer (CEO) said.
On July 10, 2024, the federal government announced the suspension of duties, tariffs, and taxes on the importation of food commodities as part of initiatives to curtail the prevailing economic hardship worsened by high commodity prices.
Abubakar Kyari, minister of agriculture and food security, said the measure was a 150-day duty-free import window for food commodities, which involves the suspension of duties, tariffs, and taxes for the importation of maize, husked brown rice, wheat, and cowpeas.
In August last year, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) announced the implementation of the policy after receiving presidential approval.
Customs said the duty waiver, which took effect on July 15, was expected to end on December 15, 2024.
However, in September of the same year, the NCS disclosed that implementation suffered some setbacks, but noted that the policy would be implemented as soon as it received the list of beneficiaries from the ministry of finance.
Five days later, Wale Edun, minister of finance, held a meeting with the customs to discuss the implementation of the zero percent duty on selected food imports.
The federal government had said the measure would reduce the high cost of food items in the Nigerian market, however, food inflation continues to soar.
In the last consumer price index (CPI) report for November, inflation rose to 34.6 percent while food inflation surged to 39.93 percent.
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