Chairman of BUA Group Abdul Samad Rabiu has pledged to further lower the prices of rice and other food items, which have already decreased over the past year.
Rabiu commended President Bola Tinubu for granting a waiver on imported food items, saying that the President’s “foresight” helped crash food prices in the country.
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Rabiu said, “At the time food prices were really very high last year. For example, the price of rice was about N100,000 or thereabout per 50 kilo bag.
”The flour was about N80,000 per bag and maize was about N60,000 per 50 kilo bag, and pasta above N20,000 per Carton.”
He added that BUA Foods keyed into the policy and was able to import wheat, maize, and rice, which led to a reduction in prices.
According to Rabiu, the price of rice is now around N60,000 per 50 kilo bag, down from N110,000 last year. Flour is now N55,000 per 50 kilo bag, and maize is around N30,000.
Rabiu explained that the price increases were caused by hoarders who buy paddy rice during the harvest season and hold it for three to four months, driving up prices.
He said, “So, what has been happening and a lot of people probably don’t know this, is that Nigerians, a lot of companies in Nigeria usually buy a lot of paddy. That is rice paddy.”
Rabiu commended the President’s policy with helping to curb the trend of hoarding.
He said, “So, what that intervention did at the time when we brought in was to create an issue for those hoarders. Because the moment we imported, we were selling, and those orders had a lot of paddy, they could not sell, and the price now came down, and it is still down.”
Rabiu expressed hope that the price of rice would not go any higher than its current price, saying, “So, I am hopeful that at the end of the day, the price of rice going forward is not going to go any higher than what it is today.”
He attributed this to the availability of imported rice and the efforts of the Rice Millers Association to address hoarding.
Rabiu thanked President Tinubu for his foresight and vision, saying, “Let me use this opportunity to thank His Excellency, for his foresight, for his vision, because I actually didn’t see that.
” I didn’t know that that was going to work, but we keyed in.” He pledged to continue supporting the government’s efforts to ensure that food prices continue to come down.
