BUA Chairman vows to slash rice prices amid soaring food inflation in Nigeria
Rabiu attributed much of the inflationary pressure to speculative hoarding of commodities like paddy rice during harvest season
NIGERIA – Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, has pledged to significantly reduce the price of rice in Nigeria, warning hoarders of the staple commodity that they stand to lose financially.
Rabiu made the declaration after a high-level meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the presidential villa in Abuja recently, affirming private sector support for the government’s economic recovery and food security agenda.
Currently, food prices in Nigeria remain high despite recent government efforts, with a 50kg bag of rice priced around N100,000 (US$62.50), wheat or flour at N80,000 (US$50), maize at N60,000 ($37.50), and pasta at N20,000 ($12.50) per carton.
Rabiu attributed much of the inflationary pressure to speculative hoarding of commodities like paddy rice during harvest season.
“They hold it for months and then prices double. But that doesn’t help the farmer; he’s still earning N400,000 to N500,000 (US$250–US$312) per tonne,” Rabiu noted.
He credited the Tinubu administration’s import duty waivers for key food items, including brown rice, maize, wheat, and sorghum, for disrupting the hoarders’ grip on the market.
“That policy frustrated those hoarding food,” he said, expressing optimism that the combination of market interventions and increased production will bring prices down sharply in the coming months.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is one of the continent’s largest producers and consumers of grains. Key staples such as rice, maize, sorghum, and millet form the foundation of the national diet, while also playing a vital role in food security and rural employment.
Despite being a leading producer of grains in West Africa, Nigeria still struggles with production inefficiencies, post-harvest losses, and an overreliance on imports.
The nation consumes over 7 million metric tonnes (MMT) of rice annually but produces only about 5.3 MMT, according to the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN). The shortfall is met through imports and informal cross-border trade, especially from countries like Benin and India.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the country’s food inflation rate stood at 40.53% in April 2025, driven largely by cereals, tubers, and dairy products. The price of rice, a household staple consumed daily by millions, has seen a more than 50% increase over the past 12 months.
Wheat, which is almost entirely imported, represents one of the most significant challenges for the grain sector. The country imports over 5 MMT of wheat annually, mainly from the United States, Russia, and Canada, to meet its demand for bread, flour, and pasta.
However, Nigeria is expected to harvest 135,000 tonnes of wheat in the 2025/2026 season, according to the latest report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) published on March 19.
This forecast represents a 13% increase from the previous season’s 120,000 tonnes, driven by improved yields and an expansion of cultivated land.
The USDA attributes this positive outlook to an expected 7% rise in yields, reaching 1.2 tonnes per hectare due to the adoption of improved seed varieties. Contracted farmers receiving financial incentives are projected to achieve even higher yields of up to 3 tonnes per hectare through these improved agricultural inputs.
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