Nigerians spend N1.3trillion on rice annually

The Nigeria CustomsIdowu Samuel, Abuja - 11.02.2008

THE Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources has lamented that Nigeria has been spending N1.3 trillion on rice importation annually, a development it said has partly been responsible for the stunted growth of the national economy.

It also said Nigeria annually consumed about 1.5 million metric tonnes of imported wheat amounting to N54 billion. Both rice and wheat remain the most consumed staple food items in Nigeria, according to the ministry.

The Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, Alhaji Abba Ruma Sayyaid, made this disclosure in Abuja at the weekend in an interactive session with some investors at his official residence. He said the ministry arrived at the statistics from the researches it conducted on spending by Nigeria on imported food items.

He said rice and wheat could be grown successfully in large quantities in specific areas of the country and as such, Nigeria did not need to import them. According to Ruma, the passion by Nigerians for rice and bread was responsible for the huge expenses made by the government and individuals on rice and wheat importation, adding that Nigeria paid heavy taxes for importing the commodities.

He said the passion by the people of the country for rice and wheat was also the main reason they took great risks in smuggling the items into the country, saying his ministry was now prepared to stop Nigeria from spending huge amounts on importation of foodstuffs.