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Rice millers decry import waiver, rising production costs

The Punch August 9, 2026

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production costs August 9, 2026 12:11 am By Princess Etuk Kindly share this story: The National Chairman of the

Rice Millers Association of Nigeria, Peter Dama, has warned that the Federal Government’s import waiver on rice may

have lowered prices for consumers but is forcing local millers out of business due to high production costs and the

absence of agricultural subsidies. Speaking on the impact of the import policy, Dama told Sunday PUNCH that while

consumers, particularly in Lagos, were benefiting from lower rice prices, the policy was having devastating consequences

for Nigeria’s rice milling industry. He said, “This importation, Lagosians are saying that they are happy because of

the waiver. They can now buy rice for N48,000 and N49,000, and they are happy because the waiver is working for them.

The waiver is working for them but killing the industry in Nigeria. So you see, that is an issue, that is a problem.”

According to him, the challenge is compounded by the fact that countries exporting rice to Nigeria heavily subsidise

their agricultural sectors, while Nigerian farmers receive little or no meaningful support. “Because the government is

importing, but the other countries are subsidizing their own agriculture. Nigeria is not subsidising anything. It’s

not subsidizing agriculture. It’s only through word of mouth that we hear that agriculture is being subsidised. But

the fact of the matter is that the subsidies are not there. India subsidized their farmers. China subsidized its

farmers. Malaysia subsidized its rice farmers. Japan subsidized its rice farmers. “And when these things are

happening, they can produce. They have surplus. And because of the subsidies, they can export what they have because

they produce more.” Dama argued that the disparity in production costs leaves local millers unable to compete with

imported rice, describing the situation as unsustainable. “So for example, you use N10 to produce your rice, and then

at the end of the day you go and sell your rice for N3. Is that a gain or are you just completely collapsing? So this is

what is happening in Nigeria. There is a problem,” he said. He further blamed rising labour costs for worsening the

industry’s challenges, noting that expenses associated with processing and transporting rice had increased sharply.

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squeeze CBN, Dangote earn Almond Insurance Industry Awards nominations “You produce at a higher rate. And you know,

for example now, if you go and pick up a labourer, and tell them to come and work, let them be, you know, drying or

washing, you know, your rice, your paddy. Every blessed day, they work, and they work based on hours. And they charge

you, say for example, a day is N5,000. How can you cope?” Giving another example, Dama said the cost of loading rice

onto trucks had risen significantly. “Let me just also give you another small, simple example. Loading and offloading

rice products in the truck. If you are going to send your rice, say, to Lagos or Kano, you need labourers to come and

load it. Before, they were loading for you at N15 per bag. “Today, a bag, they load for N500. And your truck is

carrying 600 bags. Before it was N50, but today it’s N500 per bag to load. So you see all these cost implications are

things that take prices up. And that is what is affecting the industry.” He added that many rice millers had already

shut down their operations because they could no longer compete with cheaper imported rice. “And a lot of millers have

closed shop. They are just watching because the imported one is cheaper than even the local producers. Because if you

are producing locally, you want to depend on NEPA. You can’t break even. It’s not cheap at all. So you produce to

make some little profit. You don’t produce to lose.” In July 2024, the Federal Government approved a 150-day

duty-free import window for selected food commodities, including husked brown rice, maize, wheat and beans, as part of

measures to curb soaring food inflation and improve food availability. The Nigeria Customs Service subsequently issued

implementation guidelines granting a zero per cent import duty and associated levies on the affected commodities for

qualified importers, with the government saying the policy was intended as a temporary intervention to reduce the cost

of food across the country. However, the policy has since evolved. In 2026, the Federal Government introduced broader

fiscal and tariff reforms that reduced import duties on a range of agricultural products, including rice, rather than

continuing the temporary zero-duty waiver. Under the new tariff regime, import duties on rice were lowered, but not

eliminated as they were under the 2024 waiver. All Farmers Association of Nigeria has referred to a “renewal of the

import waiver” in discussing the continued influx of imported rice and its impact on local producers. Princess Etuk

Princess Etuk is a journalist at Punch Newspapers with over five years of experience covering national development and

the economy. She focuses on public policy, infrastructure, agriculture, and related sectors, producing insightful

features and exclusive reports. Princess’s work reflects a strong commitment to accountability journalism, sectoral

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