The price of a 50kg bag of rice has dropped to N58,000 in some parts of Nigeria, particularly around remote areas, amid imports from the Republic of Benin, a report by S&P Global has said.
The report said that the West African parboiled rice market has slumped to a near two-year low as supplies flood into regional markets following India’s removal of export duties on parboiled rice.
A 50kg bag of rice has dropped from N80,000 to N58,000 as a result of the influx of the commodity to neighbouring Benin Republic, from where it enters Nigeria.
Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity, reports that the influx of lower-priced rice from India has filled warehouses to capacity in Benin, according to market participants.
Between September and December, India was said to have exported approximately 2.11 million metric tonnes of parboiled rice to West Africa, up sharply from 720,000 metric tonnes in the same period of 2023.
According to the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, in 2024 as a whole, India exported 5.35 million metric tonnes of parboiled rice to West Africa, up from 3.9 million metric tonnes in 2023.
