Nigeria’s agric minister confirms duty-free importation of beans, wheat, rice

Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari, has confirmed that the Tinubu administration has suspended duties, tariffs and taxes for the importation of major food items like beans, wheat and husked brown rice.

Mr Kyari, in a statement he shared on his X account, said the government has suspended “duties, tariffs, and taxes for the importation of certain food commodities through land and sea borders. These commodities include maize, husked brown rice, wheat, and cowpeas.”

PREMIUM TIMES reports that the minister’s statements come about 48 hours after a presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, shared a similar statement but later deleted it.

In his statement, Mr Kyari said the imported food “will be subjected to a Recommended Retail Price (RRP).”

The government hopes that the new food import policy will lead to a drastic reduction in the prices of basic food items, whose prices have increased astronomically since President Bola Tinubu removed subsidies on petrol and floated the naira to allow the value of the Nigerian currency to be determined by market forces.

Mr Kyari also said the federal government will massively import some food items in addition to allowing the duty-free importation of food.

“Federal Government will import 250,000 metric tons of wheat and 250,000 metric tons of maize. These semi-processed commodities will be supplied to small-scale processors and millers across the country,” he said.

Details later…