According to Kabir Ibrahim, the president of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, the landing cost of each bag of imported rice from India is $58. Ibrahim claimed that the high exchange rate in the nation made local rice less expensive in a recent interview with The PUNCH in Lagos.
Using foreign exchange to purchase goods and transport them to Nigeria is not a competitive strategy. India is the country that produces the cheapest rice in the world; a 50 kg bag of rice costs $58 to arrive there. Based on the current exchange rate, you may figure that the landing cost per bag of rice to Lagos is more than N60,000.
Therefore, you are unable to compete with Nigerian products when you begin distributing using local transportation and other means’, Ibrahim said.
Ibrahim, who also serves as the President of the Nigeria Agribusiness Group, continued by saying that purchasing maize domestically was less expensive than importing it from Brazil. The cheapest maize available is Brazilian yellow maize.
I was the Poultry Association President once. Due to the two-week travel duration, we used to import corn from Brazil. It takes six weeks if you purchase from the United States of America.
Thus, you purchase from the nearest location, but the landing cost now makes it impossible for you to compete with the locally made one,” he clarified.
The claim that 70% of the cattle smuggled into Nigeria originated in the Niger Republic was refuted by the head of AFAN. Recall that 70% of the livestock brought into Nigeria, according to Transborder Traders Association President Nasiru Salami, originated in the Niger Republic.
Salami asserted that the majority of trade between Nigeria and other African nations was conducted through barter.
Ibrahim argued in response, saying, “I am into livestock.” The person who stated it to you had no idea what they were talking about. Some cow species are available from the Niger Republic. They have enormous horns and grow to be very large.
However, when it comes to poultry, I am a farmer and own a farm in Katsina on the border. The head of AFAN said, “I am aware that individuals travel from the Niger Republic to get eggs from us.
He clarified that the most of the animals killed in Lagos are not from the Niger Republic but rather from the northern region of the nation. Ibrahim disclosed that the association was advocating for the use of waggons to transport the animals.
Ibrahim claimed that they will be transported by rail to avoid their arriving weary and hungry. Furthermore, Shaki Agbeyewa, the Deputy Chairman of the AFAN Lagos Chapter, declared, “It is more advisable to buy those products in Nigeria than to import them.” Anything you purchase has a one-year cycle from the point of production on the farm to the point of consumption.
Therefore, doing it in Nigeria makes sense. The ones you purchase overseas can be used in Nigeria for up to three years; some may even have passed their expiration date. Because of the financial advantages, purchasing in Nigeria is preferable to importing, according to Agbeyewa.