Following President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive for the closure of Nigeria’s border with neighbouring countries to check the activities of smugglers, the government of Niger Republic has banned the export of rice into Nigeria.
This was stated in a circular dated September 5, 2019 and signed by Niger’s Director-General of Customs, Oumarou Amadu, who ordered all relevant agencies to comply strictly or face severe sanctions.
Since the restriction of access to rice and 40 other commodities came into effect in 2015, Nigeria’s close neighbours have not been so understanding of PMB’s policy.
Benin is said to have crashed its rice importation tariff to seven per cent, while Cameroon brought its own to zero per cent between 2015 and 2018.
The reduction of excise duties has increased smuggling of rice into Nigeria.
