Nigeria has received a shipment of 32,000 tons of brown rice from Thailand as the government seeks to alleviate the rising costs of food in the country.
According to a Bloomberg report citing the logistics company that facilitated the shipment, DUCAT, the consignment, the first in a decade, has arrived in Lagos.
The grain from Thailand was shipped after the federal government issued a tariff moratorium on wheat, corn, rice, and other food crops last year, DUCAT added.
“Nigeria has been working hard to find solutions to broaden and strengthen its food supply accessibility,” DUCAT Chief Executive Officer Adrian Beciri said in a statement.
To combat rising food inflation, the federal government in July last year approved a 150-day duty-free for importing maize, husked brown rice, and wheat, under which it was to import 250,000 metric tonnes of wheat and maize to replenish the strategic grain reserve.
Other plans under the policy include setting a Guaranteed Minimum Price (GMP) for commodities, increasing production among smallholder farmers for the 2024/2025 season, and promoting fortified food production.
However, despite the policy’s announcement, food costs have remained high in the country.