Rice farmers, millers and processors on
Wednesday announced that the price of a 50kg bag of the produce would
fall to around N6,000 in the next few months...
According to them, the current market
price of rice, which is about N15,000 per 50kg bag, will drop to between
N6,000 and N7,000 in a couple of months going by the bumper wet season
harvest by farmers.
Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting
between the rice farmers/processors and the Minister of Agriculture and
Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, at the ministry’s headquarters, in
Abuja, the National President, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, Mr.
Aminu Goronyo, told journalists that the operators had resolved to
reduce the price of the commodity to N13,000 per 50kg bag, but stressed
that the price would further drop to N6,000 in the coming months.
He said, “This is just the beginning,
the actual price of rice will come down because we are expecting a
bumper harvest this year. We have sat down with the millers and agreed
that we are going to work together in the interest of Nigerians.
“I think you had been buying a bag of
rice at the cost of N18,000; but today, the price is between N13,000 and
N15,000; meaning that the price is coming down.”
Asked whether the price would crash
further as was the case some years back, Goronyo replied, “Of course!
Not even N7,000, it will crash to N6,000. Just give us some time; in
fact, in the next few months, it will be N6,000 for 50kg.
“You have heard what the minister said
earlier. Our major challenge is the cost of production, but the minister
has promised to bring down this cost to a very minimal level. I won’t
state a particular month, but I can tell you that this will happen in
the next few months. The various stakeholders, including the Central
Bank of Nigeria, have all agreed to work with us.”
The President, Rice Processors
Association of Nigeria, Abubakar Mohammed, stated that operators in the
rice value chain were working hard to crash the price of the commodity.
This, he said, prompted the meeting with
Ogbeh, as he explained that rice farmers, millers and processors had
agreed to cut down the cost of rice paddy, a development that would
obviously bring down the market price of the commodity.
Mohammed stated, “We came here to inform
the minister about our agreement with farmers on the price of paddy for
rice production. This is what brought us here together with the
farmers’ association to let the minister know that we have agreed on a
price per tonne of paddy for the 2017/2018 wet season harvest.
“The price is N110,000 at the farm per
tonne of paddy. Bringing this down in relation to the cost of one bag of
rice, as we mentioned it to the minister earlier, a 50kg bag will now
drop to between N13,000 and N13,500. This will reduce further in the
coming months.
“Before, we used to buy paddy at the
rate of N140,000 to N150,000 per tonne, and we sold at about N16,000 per
50kg bag . So, if this works, we hope to sell a bag of rice at between
N13,000 and N13,500, according to where you are in the country; and the
paddy cost will be N110,000 per tonne.”
Asked whether there were doubts as to
the workability of the latest initiative between the private sector
players and the Federal Government, Mohammed replied, “No! We have just
signed the Memorandum of Understanding. So let the process start and if
it works, then it is fine for everybody.”
Earlier in his address during the event
proper, Ogbeh assured his guests that the Federal Government would give
them the required support, as he noted that it was in the interest of
Nigerians and local rice dealers to further cut down on the price of the
commodity.
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