Local: Rice processors agree to drop price, says Kano Government

Kano State Public Complaints and the Anti-Corruption Commission has reached an agreement with Integrated Rice Millers to make local rice affordable and open to customers in Kano.

Part of the deal is to ensure that customers purchase 50 kg of rice at a support price not hitting N16,000 on the market.

Chairman of the commission, Muhuyi Magagi Riminga announced the agreement after meeting with the Integrated Rice Millers Association of Nigeria at his office.

Riminga revealed that the millers have agreed to release 30 trucks of rice at the rate of N15,500 per 50kg bag to dedicated supermarkets who will not sell above N16,000 to consumers.

The President, who regretted the high cost of rice during the lock-up, noted that the Commission had received the government's mandate to monitor unduly hoarding and increase the cost of food items in the state.

According to him, "We had a meeting with the Rice Processors Association to see how the artificial inflation in the price of the product in the state could be resolved.

“Because of this COVID-19, they will be giving out 30 trailers of rice to supermarkets in the state.

“The supermarkets will be receiving the goods at the rate of N15,500 and will not sell more than N16,000. Hence the Supermarket owners will be buying rice directly from the processors to avoid hoarding of the product and subsequent inflation. This is the proposal of the commission.

“Secondly, we noted that the markets from where they source the raw materials have closed down as a result of the lockdown, which might be the reason why there is an increase in the price of the product.

“They, therefore, want both the state and the federal government to allow the markets where the paddy rice is sold to operate. If this is done and Kano Processors are allowed to operate, it will have significant impact on the price control of rice not only in Kano but all over the country.”

The chairman of the rice processors, Muhammad Abubakar, who lamented the acute shortage of paddy rice in Kano, appealed to the federal government to reopen other markets where the aggregators source the raw materials for the millers.