LIVE UPDATES
The Federal Government, on Monday has announced a 150-day duty-free import window for food commodities as it stepped up efforts to tackle rising inflation which had impoverished many Nigerians.
The government also expressed its decision to collaborate with states to expand land cultivation across the country.
Consequently, the government suspended duties, tariffs and taxes for the importation of certain food commodities through land and sea borders.
Among other things, the latest directive is expected to reduce demand for forex by food importers. In 2023, Nigerians spent $2.13bn to import food items from foreign countries.
The quarterly statistics of the Central Bank of Nigeria showed that the country exported large amounts of food from foreign countries despite being touted as the food basket of Africa.
The high food import bill is a concern for the government. The country has a large agricultural sector, and there have been efforts to boost local production to reduce the dependence on food imports. However, factors such as inadequate infrastructure, insecurity, and climate change have hindered progress in the sector.
But the latest directive allowing free food imports, experts say, is a clear demonstration that the Nigerian government is yet to put the nation on the right path of eradicating hunger by 2030 as stipulated by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The government had earlier ruled out the importation of food as part of strategies to address the high costs of foodstuffs and the economic hardship troubling the country.
Speaking at the press conference held in Abuja, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, said that 150 days of duty-free imports would be valid for commodities including maize, husked brown rice, wheat, and cowpeas.
The initiative which is part of the Presidential Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan would also enable the Federal Government to import 250,000 metric tonnes of wheat and 250,000MT of maize.
It explained that the imported food commodities in their semi-processed state would target supplies to the small-scale processors and millers across the country.
Kyari said, “To ameliorate food inflation in the country caused by affordability and exacerbated by availability, the government has taken a raft of measures to be implemented over the next 180 days:
Kyari explained that the advancement plan was an initiative of President Bola Tinubu to bring about food security and economic stability to Nigeria.
He noted that over the past several months, “we have all been witnesses to the escalating cost of food items in all parts of the country. There is virtually no food item that has not had its price raised to a level higher than what a good many Nigerians can afford.”
The minister stated that the affordability crisis in our food security system had been indexed by the data from the National Bureau of Statistics which by the last count, had put food inflation at 40.66 per cent.
Nigerians have battled high food prices since the president announced the removal of petrol subsidies and also floated the naira so the value of the Nigerian currency can be determined by market forces in 2023.
Kyari pointed out that the causative factors in the country’s food inflation figures include infrastructural challenges, multiple taxes and levies, and the sheer profiteering by marketers and traders.
Speaking further, the minister added that the government would collaborate with state governments to identify irrigable lands and increase land under cultivation.
The National President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Dele Oye, commended the Federal Government on the move to suspend taxes on food imports.
He said, “We commend the Federal Government’s decisive action to suspend duties, tariffs, and taxes on the importation of key food commodities. This initiative, announced by Honourable Minister Abubakar Kyari, represents a significant step towards mitigating the severe food inflation currently impacting Nigerian households.
The National Vice President of the Nigerian Association of Small-Scale Industrialists, Segun Kuti-George, said it was a welcome development.
He said, “Like it was stated in the minister’s speech, it is a 150-day kind of relief. 150 days, we are talking about five months. So we are talking between now and December. The goal will be to bring down the cost of essential food items in the market. You will see that they are attached to those items that are either consumed directly or used in the production of one thing or another.
Meanwhile, the National President, Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria, Dr Femi Egbesola, said while the move would help arrest food inflation, it might end up weakening the country’s agricultural sector.
According to him, players in the food sector may find it difficult and unprofitable to compete against importers of foods.
He advised, “It will be wise if government at all levels can declare a state of emergency in our food sector and put all hands on deck to stimulate and intervene proactively in the sector. We should be able to produce what we eat and eat what we produce. That is the only sustainable food model.”
