Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Trade Malpractice, Alhaji Dahiru Ado-Kurawa has revealed plans to review tariff on rice, to tackle smuggling and revenue loss. That planned downward review was aimed at reducing the level of smuggling of the commodity from Benin Republic. The 110 percent tariff hike was introduced in January to encourage local  production.

“The Federal Government will likely adjust the policy because it has escalated the influx of smuggled rice from neighbouring countries.

“Benin Republic is one of the highest importers of parboiled rice, the country that ordinarily imports about 230,000 tonnes per annum. The two-million-tonne parboiled rice imported by Benin is all smuggled into Nigeria,” the chairman said.

He recalled that the stakeholders met recently in Abuja and advised the Federal Government to review the rice policy and sift out the grey areas. This, he said, was to ensure that government’s quest to halt rice import was achieved. Unfortunately, Nigeria lost over N2 billion to smugglers through land borders in Nigeria.

According to him, Nigeria that used to be the highest rice importer, had suddenly relinquished the position to Benin Republic. “We cannot continue to fold our arms and allow neighbouring countries destroy our economy,” he said while explaining that the review was not a policy summersault, but a way of creating healthy mechanism for Nigeria to be self-sufficient in rice production and earn income from imported rice.

He said that the government would also give incentives to rice millers to key into the backward integration programme. According to him, government’s policy on rice has greatly deepened local production of the commodity. “The policy is geared towards attaining self-sufficiency in rice production,” he said.