By Abbas Nazil
The Chairman of BUA Group, Alhaji Abdul Samad Rabiu, has reiterated the company’s commitment to maintaining lower food prices across Nigeria, particularly rice, and warned those involved in hoarding that their actions will be countered.
Alhaji Rabiu made this declaration while addressing State House Correspondents after a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, during which he praised the administration’s food import duty waiver policy for its impact on reducing food inflation.
In July 2024, the Federal Government suspended customs duties on key food imports such as rice, wheat, and maize for six months.
This intervention, Alhaji Rabiu explained, created an opportunity for BUA Foods to massively import these essential commodities.
As a result, the prices of these items, which had reached all-time highs in the previous year, began to decline significantly.
Alhaji Rabiu cited that a 50kg bag of rice, which previously cost as much as N110,000, is now selling for around N60,000.
Flour prices have dropped from N80,000 to N55,000 per bag, while maize, once priced at N60,000, now goes for approximately N30,000.
According to him, this price reduction is directly tied to the influx of imported food commodities made possible by the President’s waiver policy, which he described as a product of “foresight and vision.”
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The industrialist went further to expose a longstanding market manipulation practice by some local buyers, who purchase large quantities of rice paddy during harvest seasons and hoard them for months to sell at inflated prices.
While this tactic benefits middlemen, Alhaji Rabiu emphasized that it does not impact farmers, who sell their paddy at fixed rates of N400,000 to N500,000 per ton.
However, due to scarcity created by hoarding, prices can skyrocket to N800,000 per ton post-harvest, pushing retail prices to unsustainable levels.
By flooding the market with imported rice and other food items, BUA Foods has disrupted the strategy of these hoarders, who are now struggling to sell their stocks at the expected high prices.
Alhaji Rabiu confirmed that many of these traders are now facing losses, a situation he believes will discourage future hoarding.
He also revealed that the Rice Millers Association is actively working to curb hoarding practices among its members.
While acknowledging the challenge of completely stopping hoarding, Alhaji Rabiu expressed optimism that the fear of price crashes, driven by sustained imports, would deter such actions.
Alhaji Rabiu concluded by reaffirming BUA’s support for government efforts to stabilize the food market and assured Nigerians that food prices will not rise in the near future.
He expressed pride in BUA’s role in this positive trend, noting that while the public is quick to complain during inflation, less recognition is given when prices fall.
Nonetheless, he maintained that BUA will continue its interventions to ensure consistent affordability of essential food items.
