Import duty reduction kills our local industry, rice millers cry out

.say not sustainable

By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – FOLLOWING reduction on import duty on rice and other commodities by the Tinubu-led administration, rice millers under the Rice Millers Association of Nigeria, RIMAN, weekend, cried out that the move will kill the local rice industry if not reversed.

Speaking with Vanguard, the National President, RIMAN, Peter Dama, said the decision is inimical to the rice industry, and will make farmers and millers close down their business if the government fails to consider the policy.

According to him, the Association had given a very detailed analysis of what they have done and what can be done to boost the local production of rice, but nothing yet has been done on that.

He said: “It is a sort of getting at us, not any improvement. There is nothing. In fact, the government is just talking. I mean, we have not seen anything, no improvement.

“Not even our own association, other people who are in the agricultural ecosystem have equally spoken, telling them that you cannot substitute your local production with importation or with whatever, allowing these things to go freely while you kill the local industry.

“But they have seen it, and it is not sustainable because if you, in fact, continue that way, it will reduce prices for a short period of time but then the prices will skyrocket. When you are unable to get the funds, the money to continue to import but now, you have already started seeing this thing.

“Initially, there was some kind of a downward situation on the prices but would you say that is the same today? Not even with that, with the crisis in Iran and the Middle East, you know that these things are impacting negatively on us.

“If for example, we have developed some kind of a system to shock-absorb all these crisis that we are having, would we find ourselves in this kind of situation?

“We are concerned about the reduction in the import rates, particularly on rice but then it affects all other goods, all other commodities that they have reduced the import rates, and the kind of negative impact on our own local production.”

However, he counseled that “the government should rethink about whatever they are doing, and that import substitution cannot sustain our local agricultural production, and this will continue to have negative impact on our ability to produce for self-sufficiency.”

He also said rice farmers and millers are yet to feel any intervention from the government, “Maybe still walk on the table, but it has not reached us.”

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