…Local rice producers kick against opening land borders

From David Onwuchekwa, Nnewi

BARELY a week after the Nigeria Customs Service (NIS) unbanned importa­tion of rice; local rice mill­ers in the country have called on the Federal Gov­ernment to reconsider the move.

Making the call at the weekend, Chief Executive Officer of Stine Industries Limited, Amichi in Nnewi South Local Government Area, Anambra State, Chief Akai Egwuonwu, pointed out that rice pro­ducers in the country were surprised about govern­ment’s new policy.

He said it was surprising to local rice producers that, even as the business of lo­cal production was about to stabilise, government has now opened the country’s land borders, much to the detriment of local millers, who have invested a lot by employing thousands of Nigerians, who were now faced with retrenchment if the policy is not reversed.

He urged the new Ni­geria Customs Comptrol­ler- General, Col Hamed Ali (retd) to look into the matter and save Nigerian companies engaged in rice production from collapse.

“Before now, rice can only be imported through the seaports. You cannot import through the land borders. But the issue is that by the Customs new policy, you can now im­port rice through the land borders.

“This obviously, apart from encouraging dump­ing, the quality of rice brought into this country is now compromised as it is now all comers affair and the Federal Government is bound to lose revenue that would have come through official importation.

“There seems to be dif­ferent policies coming from different directions and these policies have ad­versely affected us.

“If Federal Govern­ment does not want local producers to go into ex­tinction, this has to be ad­dressed now,” Egwuonwu said.