RIMDAN Decries Poor Quality Rice In Markets

The Rice Millers, Processors and Dealers Association of Nigeria (RIMDAN), has alerted that poor quality rice had been smuggled into the Nigerian market. The Vice Chairman of the RIMDAN, Mr. Tunji Owoeye, expressed the association’s concerns over the poor quality of the commodity that had hit the nation’s market, linking it to the nation’s porous borders.

Owoeye explained at a press briefing in Lagos that the situation was impacting negatively on the health of the nation’s citizenry, and stressed the need for the government to urgently address the issue of smuggling at the nation’s land borders.

According to him, this is because the smuggling activities spell doom for the country’s rice value chain. “If you follow the trend in the industry in the last six months, government has increased duties to discourage importation in order to boost local production.

“We support the government’s initiative, but as we increase levies and taxes, it gives the smugglers more room to operate, especially through the corridors of the Republic of Benin,’’ he said.

He said that the economy of that neighbouring country was solely dependent on Nigeria’s economy. According to him, the only way to tackle smuggling is through sincerity and willingness of the government to police the borders.

He said that this could be achieved with stakeholders like the rice processors and importers to give relevant information about the porous routes and tackle it headlong.

“I am sure that with the collaborative efforts of the agencies of government and stakeholders in the rice industry in Nigeria, we can reduce the smuggling.

“I am not sure we can stop it completely but we can reduce it to the barest minimum such that it will not negatively impact on local investments or the government revenue.

“I am sure that with time, smugglers will know that Nigeria is not a country to toil with in this respect,’’ he said.

Owoeye, however, commended the courage of the Nigeria Customs for effectively tackling the smuggling activities in the last two months.

“They have made significant seizures of smuggled rice into the country in the last two months.

“They always pledge to assist us by policing our borders to put a stop to these smuggling of rice,’’ he said.