Association Urges FG To Implement Duty On Rice

Rice Millers,
Importers and Distributors Association of Nigeria (RIMIDAN), has called on the Federal Government to implement the agreed $190 duty per metric tone on rice.
The Secretary-General of the association, Alhaji Shaibu Mohammed, who made the call recently in Lagos expressed regret that more than 20 vessels of rice were still at sea due to the Federal Government’s breach of the agreement which was reached last November in Abuja.
He revealed that the Federal Government recently held a meeting with the dealers in Abuja with a view to proffering solution to end smuggling of rice through the Republic of Benin to Nigeria.
According to him, the government called the stakeholders meeting in order to address the problem before Christmas which accounts for high consumption of the commodity.
He said the move was expected to have been done legally through the Nigerian Ports even as he said the legal import process was not implemented by the Federal Government.
He said the move could have saved industry by boosting national revenue by N50b.
According to him, at the meeting, the Inter-ministerial Committee approved reduction of duty from $570 to $190 per metric tonne as a benchmark for imported rice within two months.
The body is made up of the presidential committee on trade malpractices, customs and ministries of agriculture with the association expressing regret that the new dutiable price for legally imported rice has not been implemented.
The rice dealers association also disclosed that Benin Republic parliament had reduced duty levy which has made it easier for rice to be smuggled to Nigeria.