By Dare Balogun, 9th July, 2024
President Bola Tinubu has approved the duty-free importation of major food items like rice, beans and wheat, to cushion the impact of the high food prices Nigerians have been grappling with since he assumed office last year.
According to a statement by Mr Tinubu’s spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, the measures will be “implemented over the next 180 days.”
Mr Onanuga, quoting Agriculture Minister Abba Kyari, said President Tinubu approved a “150-Day Duty-Free Import Window for Food Commodities”, including “Maize, Husked Brown Rice, Wheat and Cowpeas.”
Nigerians have battled with high food prices since the president announced the removal of petrol subsidies last year and also floated the naira so the value of the Nigerian currency can be determined by market forces.
The policies led to a huge increase in the prices of basic foods, with 50kg of rice increasing in price from about N20,000 to about N70,000 in a year.
Many Nigerians had called on the president to allow massive food importation to cushion the rise in food prices but others argued against it, saying it would affect the local production of such goods.
In his statement, Mr Onanuga said not only will the government now allow duty-free import for the private sector for 150 days, the federal government will “import 250,000MT of Wheat and 250,000MT of Maize. The imported food commodities in their semi-processed state will target supplies to the small-scale processors and millers across the country.”
