The Nigeria Customs Service has said the order of duty-free import of food items by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu did not include grain importation through land borders.

Nigerians have been battling high food prices since Tinubu announced the removal of the petrol subsidy and also floated the naira for the country’s currency value to be determined by market forces last year.

The policies led to a rise in the prices of basic food, including rice, a staple food widely consumed by many Nigerians.

The commodity now sells for between N60,000 and N80,000 per 50kg bag, depending on the area and location of purchase in the country. A year ago, the price was around N30,000 for a 50kg bag.

Amid the high prices of food items in the country, Tinubu approved the duty-free importation of rice, beans, wheat, and others.

According to a statement, the President, through his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, quoting Agriculture Minister, Abubakar Kyari, said, “Mr Tinubu approved a “150-day duty-free import window for food commodities,” including “maize, husked brown rice, wheat and cowpeas.”

NCS on August 15, 2024, announced the implementation of the zero per cent import duty and exemption of Value-Added Tax on basic food items.

 According to the circular issued by the service, the policy is effective from July 15 to December 31, 2024.

However, confusion persists regarding the duty imposed on rice imports despite the zero-duty policy’s implementation.

Addressing journalists, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adeniyi, said nothing has changed in the importation of rice, saying the policy only allows duty-free on rice paddies. 

“Nothing has changed in the importation of rice. Nothing in this physical measure says rice would be brought in through the border. Nothing has changed in the importation of rice. 

“Apart from the fact that brown rice or rice paddies would be allowed duty-free, that is the only amendment to physical policy. So, the extent of the rice policy remains the same.

“Importation through the land border is still restricted, and of course, it is already removed from items that could access forex.,” Adeniyi stated,