Rice Importation: Reactions Trail FG’s Plan To Reduce Tariff

L-R: Vice President, Nigeria-Sierra Leone Chamber of Commerce (NSCC), Chief Biodun Adeniji, High Commissioner of Sierra Leone to Nigeria, Amb. Henry Macauley and Sierra Leonean Minister of Trade and Industry, Alhaji Usman Kamara, at the 2014 Investors Outreach in Lagos, last Wednesday.

The President of National Association Nigerian Traders (NANT), Mr Ken Ukuoha, has expressed displeasure over Federal Government’s plan to reduce tariff on rice importation, saying it would affect the economy negatively.
Ukuoha made his feelings known in an interview with newsmen in Abuja on Thursday.
He contended that the essence of the extant 100 per cent tariff on importation of the commodity was to strengthen the capacity of local producers and encourage its consumption.
He suggested that instead of reducing the tariff, the government should strengthen the capacity of Customs Service to curb smuggling.
He held that if implemented, the reduction would have negative effect on the transformation and development of the agricultural sector.
The NANT’s president added that the step would also have adverse effect on local farmers, who had already invested much funds to increase their production capacities.
“The decision will certainly have negative impact on the agricultural transformation agenda, because rice is one of the five produce in the value chain and I’m not comfortable with that.
“People are saying the high tariff brought about high smuggling of rice into the country.
“I think we should strengthen the capacity of the Customs to fight smuggling because if they are adequately empowered, smuggling will not be an issue”, he said.
In his reaction, the Country Director, Action Aid Nigeria, Dr Hussaini Abdu, hailed the plan to reduce the tariff.