Yemi Obafemi
Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, has attributed the recent drop in the prices of rice and other food commodities across Nigeria to the federal government’s one-off duty waiver on food imports and strategic intervention by BUA Foods.
The billionaire made this statement while addressing State House correspondents following his meeting with President Tinubu on Thursday.
Rabiu highlighted that the initiative allowed BUA to import significant quantities of wheat, maize, and rice at a time when food prices were at record highs. According to him, this move helped stabilize the market and disrupt hoarding activities that had driven up prices.
“At the time, food prices were very high. A 50kg bag of rice was selling for about N110,000, flour for N80,000, maize for N60,000, and pasta above N20,000 per carton,” Rabiu stated. “When the duty waiver policy came in, BUA imported large volumes of these commodities. As soon as our shipments arrived, we processed and released them into the market, which caused a significant drop in prices.”
Rabiu disclosed that the current price of rice has fallen to around N60,000 per 50kg bag, flour to N55,000, and maize to N30,000.
He credited President Bola Tinubu’s foresight for implementing the policy that made this possible.
Rabiu said: “And again, let me use this opportunity to thank His Excellency, for his foresight, for his vision, because I actually didn’t see that. I didn’t know that that was going to work, but we keyed in. We imported and we have supported, and now prices are down. So that is what we did, and we will continue to do to support the efforts of the government to ensure that food prices continue to come down. And I’m sure prices will come down.
“It is quite interesting that when prices were quite high, N100,000 everybody was shouting, now that prices are down or are coming down, it is like, nobody is coming out to say, look, food prices are coming down, but I’m happy to say that food prices are coming down, and they will continue to come down. That is what BUA foods is doing to support the efforts of the government in ensuring that food prices are down.”
He also explained how certain market players traditionally hoard rice paddy raw rice used in processing for months after harvest, creating artificial scarcity and driving prices up.
“These hoarders typically buy paddy during harvest and store it until prices double. But our importation disrupted that strategy. When we flooded the market with imported rice, they couldn’t sell at inflated prices and many incurred losses,” he said.
Rabiu explained that BUA has imported enough rice to sustain the Nigerian market until the end of the year. This move, he said, is aimed at discouraging artificial scarcity and price hikes usually caused by hoarders.
“What we are doing as rice millers is to ensure that we are not hoarding paddy,” Rabiu said. “Although it’s difficult to completely stop it, the current availability of imported rice means that hoarding will not succeed.”
Rabiu expressed optimism that rice prices would remain stable throughout the year. “As the next harvest season begins, farmers will continue to earn fair prices, while consumers benefit from consistent pricing. Hoarders now risk losing money if they attempt to manipulate the market,” he added.
