The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says new rules about bringing food into the country only apply to rough rice called “paddy rice.” The government still does not allow rice to come in through the land borders.
Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, who is in charge of the NCS, told the reporters this during a regular check at Apapa port on Friday.
He explained that the new rules do not change the ban on bringing rice into the country. The ban on rice still stands.
But, he also mentioned that a certain type of rice is still coming into the country, especially for those who can pay for it using foreign currency.
He said that these small amounts of rice are not included in the ban rules of the Customs Service.
“There is nothing in these new rules that says rice can come in through the border. Nothing has changed about rice importation except that brown rice or paddy rice can come in without paying any tax.
This is the only change to the policy. The rule about bringing rice in through the land border stays the same.
People with money can still bring rice in because it’s not on the list of things that can’t use foreign currency,” Adeniyi said.
“Sometimes, we see rice being imported into the port in small packages. These packages are not banned yet,” he added.
Background
After the government temporarily stopped taxes on some food items, the Nigeria Customs shared guidelines for people who want to import food.
The food items include husked brown rice, grain sorghum, millet, maize, wheat, and beans. This move aims to lower food prices in the country.
According to the customs spokesperson, the policy starts on July 15 and will continue until December 31.
“Companies must have submitted annual reports, financial statements, and paid all taxes and payroll obligations for the past five years.
Companies importing things like husked brown rice, grain sorghum, or millet must have a milling plant that can handle at least 100 tonnes per day, has been running for at least four years, and has enough farmland for growing crops.
Those who want to import maize, wheat, or beans should either be farming companies with enough land or processing companies with a network of farmers,” said the spokesperson.
What You Should Know
Nigeria is dealing with a high cost of living issue, with food prices going up by almost 39%, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
The rise in food prices has led to social unrest, with many young people in Nigeria protesting against the high cost of living.
In response, the government decided to stop taxing some food items for a while to help with the high cost of living.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security approved a 150-day period where some staple foods can come into the country without paying taxes to help reduce food prices.
The government also said that this temporary allowance for food imports will not harm efforts to improve local food production.