Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.

Nigerians can expect more reprieve in the coming weeks as market surveys show that prices of key food items are still going down.

Rice, touted to be one of the most commonly eaten foods in Nigeria, is becoming more affordable again, and reports show that the price has crashed by up to 28%.

According to a report by S&P Global, a 50kg bag of rice now sells for about N58,000 in some parts of Nigeria, particularly the remote areas.

This is a major drop from the N80,000 it sold for in March, and the N65,000 it sold for a couple of weeks ago.

India’s removal of duties triggers price crash

According to the S&P Global report, West Africa’s markets have been flooded with parboiled rice following India’s removal of export duties on parboiled rice.

With the absence of duties on the commodity, the country is massively exporting the product into West Africa, with warehouses in the republic of Benin reported to be filled.

Reports show an export of 2.11 million metric tonnes (MT) of parboiled rice from India to West Africa in Q4, 2024, nearly a 200% increase from the 720,000 MT exported in Q4, 2023.

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority reports that for the whole of 2024, India exported 5.35 million MT of parboiled rice to West Africa, a significant increase from 3.9 million MT in 2023.

Demand remains low despite drop in price

Amid the price drop, demand has remained low, raising concerns about the decline in purchasing power of Nigerians and their inability to afford good meals.

A recent report suggested that Nigerians may be currently spending all their income on food, with some families now skipping meals to get by.

The S&P Global report postulated that buyers may be waiting for prices to stabilise before making their purchases.

Traders also remain optimistic that demand will increase by the fourth quarter of the year when Christmas comes into focus.

Rice remains the most smuggled product in Nigeria

In related news, Legit.ng reported that rice was number one on the Nigeria Customs Service list of smuggled items.

For the first quarter of 2025, over 135,000 bags of rice valued at almost N1 billion were seized from multiple smuggling operations.