Despite spending billions of Naira through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrowers Program (ABP), a report released by Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) says that Nigeria among other countries like Burkina Faso, Indonesia will import more rice in 2024.

 

The report, which was released in November 2023, said global rice trade in calendar year 2024 is projected at 52.85 million tons (milled basis) , up 345,000 tons from the previous forecast but 460,000 tons smaller than the year-earlier revised forecast of 53.3 million tons.

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“Export potentials for 2024 are raised for Brazil and South Korea, while import forecasts are raised for Burkina Faso, Indonesia and Nigeria, with Indonesia’s import forecast raising 600,000 tons to 2.0 million tons”, the report says.

“Rice production is projected to continue to decline in Japan and South Korea due to diet diversification and declining and ageing populations. Weaker crops are also projected in 2023/2024 for Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mali, Nigeria, Turkey and Uzbekistan.

“On the 2024 import side, forecasts are raised for Burkina Faso, Indonesia and Nigeria but lowered for Brazil, Canada, Ukraine and Venezuela.

The report said that Nigeria’s import forecast is raised based on stronger-than-expected demand for imported rice due to both high price for domestic rice and quality concern.

The report further stated that “over the past month, quotes for trading prices for most grades of regular (neither parboiled nor aromatic) whole-grain milled rice from Thailand decreased around 2 per cent as supplies from its 2023/2024 main season crop began to enter the market.

Recall that the past government made several efforts to make Nigeria self-sufficient on rice production through the introduction of ABP and the setting up of the Presidential Task Force on Rice which had the then Governors of Kebbi, Ebonyi, Jigawa and Kano state, Atiku Bagudu, David Umahi, Abubakar Badaru and Abdullahi Ganduje respectively as members.

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