Nigeria to Kickoff Rice Export: Signs Deal with Tiamin Rice Company

To boost the export and production of rice, the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) and the Tiamin Rice Company have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to process and sell rice domestically and abroad. The MoU, valid for two years, was inked at the company’s 600-metric tonnes mill in Bauchi State. 

According to Aliyu Ibrahim, the deputy managing director of RIFAN, the collaboration between the two bodies will promote rice exportation in Nigeria. The RIFAN will produce quality rice paddy, while Tiamin will process and package the rice for local and international distribution using state-of-the-art milling technology.

He said, “RIFAN and Tiamin share a common agenda in rice farming and milling. This is to ensure a sustainable supply chain management of rice under a partnership that seeks to produce, mill and package processed rice of the highest quality for export and local trading.

With a combined capacity of 920 tonnes per hour from its two mills in Kano and Bauchi states, Tiamin Rice is one of the largest rice producers in Nigeria.”

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Government policies on rice

In 2015, rice was one of the 41 items the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) banned from accessing foreign exchange. This was done on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, who placed a ban on importing rice via land borders and a 70% tariff via ports.

Despite the impact on the price of rice in the country, it was done to increase the local production of rice in Nigeria. Although there was a surge in price, the importation of rice fell in 2022. 

According to the Thai Rice Exporters Association (TREA), Nigeria’s rice importation declined by 98.4% to 15 metric tonnes between January and July 2022. This was an improvement compared to 957 metric tonnes in the same period in 2021.

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