Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, has declared that rice prices in Nigeria will crash soon, as his company has imported enough to feed the nation until the end of the year. Rabiu gave this assurance on Thursday during a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where he also warned that food hoarders will incur huge losses.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Rabiu praised the duty waivers granted by President Tinubu last year, which allowed the importation of essential food items like rice, maize, wheat, and sorghum without paying heavy import duties. He said the move has already begun to push food prices down in markets across the country.
“Food prices are coming down in Nigeria, and we’re doing quite a lot to support that effort,” Rabiu said. “You will recall that His Excellency granted a duty waiver last year for certain food items like brown rice, maize, wheat and sorghum to be imported into the country.”
He recalled that before the waiver, a 50kg bag of rice was selling for around ₦100,000, while wheat or flour was around ₦80,000 per bag. Maize sold for ₦60,000, and a carton of pasta was going for ₦20,000. However, with the influx of imported food items, many hoarders who had stocked up hoping for prices to go higher have been disappointed.
According to Rabiu, hoarders typically buy paddy rice during harvest and hold it until the off-season to make higher profits. “Once the season finishes, the prices double,” he explained. “But that does not affect the farmer. The farmer is already paid ₦400,000 to ₦500,000 per ton. The people who are hoarding are the ones losing now.”
He said many of those who hoarded rice and other grains are currently counting their losses as the expected hike in prices has not happened due to improved supply from imports. “A lot of those hoarders are crying now and losing money. It is important to protect our farmers, but at the same time, we have 250 million Nigerians who are paying too much because of the actions of a few people,” Rabiu said.
Rabiu added that BUA Foods has brought in enough rice to keep the markets well-supplied till December, which he believes will discourage hoarding and help stabilize prices. “I am hopeful that the price of rice will not go any higher than it is today. As soon as the farming season starts, farmers will get their usual price, and hoarders will avoid storing rice because it is now risky for them,” he said.
He also expressed happiness over recent signs of food prices dropping, partly due to global conditions. He noted that India, the world’s largest rice producer, has had two years of surplus production, causing global rice prices to fall to their lowest level in 15 years. This has helped reduce the cost of imported rice worldwide, including in Nigeria.
On the issue of cement prices, Rabiu clarified that what appears to be high local prices is actually a reflection of the weakened naira. “One dollar is now ₦1,600. So if cement sells for ₦9,000 per bag, that’s ₦180,000 per ton. That’s about $110 to $120, which is globally competitive,” he said.
He pointed out that the real issue is naira devaluation, which has raised costs across all sectors. “Two years ago, we paid ₦5 billion monthly for gas at our Obu cement plant. Today, it is ₦15 billion,” he explained. “We pay for spare parts, experts, and mining equipment in dollars. So the costs have tripled.”
Despite these challenges, Rabiu believes that with proper policies like the duty waivers and private sector efforts, Nigeria can manage food inflation and protect consumers.
His comments come at a time when many Nigerians are struggling with high food and commodity prices, prompting growing public demand for more government and private sector interventions to ease the pressure.
