Rice Market: Nigeria Yet To Contribute Meaningfully

M2 survey of markets in Lagos, last week, reveals that despite the supposed financial assistance by the federal government to encourage rice farmers to produce more home-grown rice, Nigeria is yet to make meaningful contribution in the rice market. The survey shows that Nigerian produced par-boiled rice is not visible in Lagos markets as most rice shops visited in major markets had no single bag of Nigeria-made rice. Even the Ofada rice, the locally produced, stone-riddled rice, was only seen in few places. Most of the brands seen in the markets are either from Thailand, United States of America or some other country.
The survey however reveal that Ofada rice now comes in packets of 500g packaged by some indigenous small scale food companies like Ultimate, Main Foods and Cotage. The packed Ofada rice is said to be stone and dirt free and ready for cooking. A pack sells for N250 at both Ojuwoye and Agege markets. M2 also observed that the Ofada rice, which is said to be more nutritious because of its organic nature, is grossly in short supply. It is also said to be more expensive compared to the imported ones, and this, the survey reveals, affects its patronage. A 5kg worth of Ofada rice (10 packets of 500g) costs N2500, while a 12.5kg of par-boiled rice costs about N2400.