Some market analysts have blamed the scramble for rice by suppliers recruited by the federal and state governments as the reason for the spike in the prices of the commodity.
Sources told Daily Trust that requests by contractors led to an increase in demand without corresponding supply from millers.
Recall that the National Economic Council (NEC) had on Thursday, August 17, said that the federal government approved N5 billion grant to be given to each of the 36 states of the federation for the procurement of grains as well as five trucks of rice to each state as palliatives to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal.
Most of the states had later acknowledged that they got the supplies; with some of them saying they have started using part of the N5 billion given to them to procure more grains, including rice, for onward distribution to people. The five trucks given to each state translates to 3,000 bags of 50 kg. This means that a total of 111, 000 bags of rice was shared to the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.
A contractor told the publication;
“The supplies have been mopped up in the markets. I strongly feel that the federal government must explore ways to import the commodity from outside the country to bridge the gap, crash the price and avert hunger.
“They (federal government) shared roughly 3,000 bags to each of the states, how many people would benefit from it?”
A restaurateur in Wuse, Abuja, Janet Yusuf who confirmed that the price of rice has increased said “We sell a plate of rice for N1, 700 now. It was N1, 200 two weeks ago.”
A federal worker also said;
“The whole idea of the palliative by the federal government was to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy, hunger and poor purchasing power of the people.
“This was why five trucks of rice were approved for each state. However, it is not that the government had the rice in its strategic reserves, no! It contracted suppliers to get the produce from millers and retailers in markets.
“Unfortunately, as soon as the moves to get the rice commence, the price skyrocketed. As you can see, it increased by over N10, 000 per bag in the last 10 days.”
Another source said;
“It is a serious problem indeed. Rice, which is a staple food in Nigeria, is now beyond the reach of ordinary citizens and while there were other factors before the recent intervention by the government in the name of palliative, there are fears that any attempt by both the federal and state governments to contemplate buying other commodities in large quantities would lead to spike in the prices.
“There were plans to buy beans, garri and maize in large quantities in the market but there is corresponding fear that this will lead to a worse problem.”
The National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA), which is responsible for the release of rice to the states, declined comment on a request that its decision to buy the rice through contractors was responsible for the high price at retail shops. Spokesman for the agency, Manzo Ezekiel, said he was not aware of any such development.
Ezekiel said the distribution done by the agency was a Special National Economic Livelihood Emergency Intervention (SNELEI).