BUA Chairman Rabiu vows to crash rice prices, says hoarders will lose money

This was as he lauded President Bola Tinubu for granting waiver on imported food items, stressing that his foresight helped slash food prices in the country.

Recall that the Tinubu’s administration in July 2024, the announced the suspension of customs duties on imported food items to stem food inflation.

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Addressing State House Correspondents after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu on Thursday at the presidential villa, Abuja, Rabiu said “Food prices are coming down in Nigeria and we’re doing a lot to support the effort of the present administration”.

He also said he was already working with Aliko Dangote, the leader of the Dangote Group, to stabilize the price of cement, especially those involved in the Renewed Hope Initiative projects of the Federal Government.

He said, “You will recall that His Excellency granted duty, waiver last year for certain food items like brown rice, maize, wheat and sorghum.

“At the time, food prices were very high; the price of rice last year was about N100,000 per 50 kilogramme (kg) bag, and the price of wheat or flour was about N80,000 per bag, maize was about N60,000 per 50 kg bag and pasta about N20,000 per carton.”

According to him, hoarders used to buy up commodities like paddy rice during harvest season and hold them for months to force up prices, but waiver policy frustrated those hoarding food.

“The moment the season finishes, then the price will double. That has always been the problem. And that does not really affect the farmer in any way because the farmer is getting his N400,000 to N500,000 per tonne of paddy.

“But the people that are buying and hoarding for three to four months, once the season finishes, it goes back up to N800,000,” he said.

He said many of those involved in hoarding are actually crying now and losing money. “It is important to protect our farmers, but at the same time, we also have 250 million Nigerians that are paying a lot more than what they should be paying, because of what few companies or individuals are doing.

“So, I am hopeful that at the end of the day, the price of rice, going forward, will not go any higher than what it is today. I’m sure as soon as the season starts, the farmers will get the price they’ve always gotten, and the price of rice is going to stay the same, because people will be wary of hoarding, because if they hoard, they will lose money,” he said.

Speaking on the issue of cement, he attributed the high cost of cement to naira devaluation, noting that the price in dollars is competitive globally.

According to him, “One dollar is N1,600. Cement price today, even if you take it at N9,000 per bag, or 20 bags, which is one tonne, we are looking at N180,000 per tonne.

“N180,000 is $110, maybe $120 per tonne. There’s nowhere in Africa, or anywhere, that you can get the price of cement much lower than 120 dollars. So, the issue is devaluation of the naira.

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“We are paying at one of my factories, the Obu plant, N15 billion every month for the gas that we consume. Two, three years ago, we were paying N5 billion. So, it’s like three times. Our spares, our experts, mining costs and all of that, are paid in dollars.”