The Federal Government has expressed concern over an upsurge in the smuggling of foreign rice into the nation via land borders.
It believes that the operations might jeopardise the minor increase in local rice yield. As a result, the government has pledged to continue tracking boats and businesses that transport rice into the country through the Benin Republic to penalise them.
Minister Abubakar and Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Trade Malpractice Dahiru Ado revealed this at a meeting of the National Taskforce on the Illegal Importation of Rice Through Land Borders.
Col Hameed Ali (retd), the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, spoke during the meeting in Abuja, saying that the service “cannot fight alone in the operation of the border patrol”.
The meeting was called to “strategise and come up with concrete measures to enable the committee to carry out its duties effectively”, according to Mabel Mbosire, the Agriculture ministry’s Senior Information Officer.
“The ministry is very concerned about the increase in smuggling,” Abubakar said, stressing that the huge improvement in the rice sub-sector needed to be sustained for the country’s economic growth.
“The resumed smuggling of foreign rice, especially through the land borders, is constituting a serious threat to these achievements.
“Therefore, if the smuggling is left unchecked it will jeopardise all government efforts to enhance the domestic rice industry and make them ineffective,” he added.
