The Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, has issued stern warnings to hoarders to expect further crash in prices of rice and other food items in the country.
Speaking to State House Correspondents after meeting with President Tinubu on Thursday, Rabiu revealed that the drop in prices of food items over the past year was due to BUA Foods’ resolve to key into President Bola Tinubu’s waivers policy on imported food, which allowed the company to import a lot of wheat, maize and rice
He lauded President Bola Tinubu for granting waiver on imported food items, stressing that his foresight helped slash food prices in the country.
“At the time, food prices were very high last year. For example, the price of rice was about N100,000 or thereabout per 50-kilo bag. The flour was about N80,000 per bag, maize was about N60,000 per 50-kilo bag, and pasta was above N20,000 per Carton. So what we did was, we keyed into that policy and BUA was able to import quite a lot of wheat, maize and rice.
He pointed out that moves by Nigerian rice companies to hoard rice paddy led to a staggering increase in the price of rice in the country.
“So, what has been happening, and a lot of people probably don’t know this, is that Nigerians, a lot of companies in Nigeria, usually buy a lot of paddy.
“Rice Paddy is what you use to process rice. So, the moment the harvest season starts, a lot of people will buy a lot of paddy and hold it for a period of three to four months. The moment the season finishes, the price will double. So a lot of people don’t know that, but that has always been the problem, he revealed.
The billionaire business mogul slammed those hoarding rice paddy, warning them that it won’t be business as usual.
”What that intervention did at the time when we brought it in was to create an issue for those hoarders. Because the moment we imported, we were selling, and those orders had a lot of paddy, they could not sell, and the price now came down, and it is still down. So a lot of those holders are crying now and losing money,” he said
Rabiu noted that President Bola Tinubu’s waiver policy on imported goods was Nigerians’ saving grace as it poses more problems for rice hoarders. He disclosed that the Rice Millers Association has come together to address the issue of hoarding by some companies, adding that the association will not allow any of its members to hoard rice.
