India Targets Nigeria With N69bn Worth Of Rice
India has cut rice export prices by 29% to $340 per tonne, helping secure shipments of 150,000 tonnes of rice to Nigeria worth about $51 million. Strong price competitiveness and reduced Nigerian import duties are boosting demand for Indian rice, while Nigeria’s rice imports are forecast to rise to 3.2 million tonnes in 2026 amid declining domestic production.
India has slashed its export price by $134 per tonne or 29 per cent to pave way for shipments of three million bags of 50-kilogramme rice (150,000 tonnes) worth about $51 million (N69 billion) to Nigeria.
The price reduction, it was learnt, would further frustrate its competitor, Thailand’s price rate, which stands at $474/tonne, while India’s price is $340/ tonne. It was learnt that Indian rice is being visible in Nigerian market, following demand for cheap parboiled rice after duties reduction by the Federal Government amid rising local costs.
According to Platts, some importers have already started sourcing rice from India and are likely to import duty-free milled rice under recently granted concessions, adding that Indian’s 5 per cent broken parboiled rice was $340/tonne on Freight on Board (FOB), compared with Thai 100 per cent parboiled rice at $474/ tonne on FOB.
Most milled rice, particularly Indian parboiled rice, has traditionally entered Nigeria through illegal cross-border trade via Benin, however, importers are now required to obtain licenses to import rice directly into Nigeria.
A Gurgaon-based trader said that amid rising Thailand prices, Nigerian demand for imports had moved to India, stressing that there was demand for about 35,000 tonnes of parboiled rice for the month, stressing that Nigerian importer had secured a duty-free license to import around 150,000 tonnes to Nigeria.
According to Sales Head at Asia Golden Rice Company Limited, Anurak Deesirisathien, negotiations were underway regarding payment terms with a Nigerian importer, saying that demand was strong for a full vessel cargo load.
He said: “We have supplied Nigeria in the past when Thai parboiled rice was priced competitively against India. “At the current levels, Thai rice is around $130/tonne higher 150,000 tonnes Being the bags of rice secured for shipments than Indian origin; so Nigerian buyers are unlikely to switch. Any new demand generated by lower import tariffs is expected to favor Indian rice because of its price advantage.”
According to data from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APFPEDA), India’s direct rice exports to Nigeria were 258,960 bags of 50-kilogramme (12,948 tonnes) between April 2025 and March 2026.
Recall that Nigerian rice merchants have have ordered for 3.3 tonnes of rice worth $1.21 billion (N1.7 trillion), following slash in import duty by the Federal Government from 70 per cent to 47.5 per cent. The reduction in the duty, according to government, was to reduce inflation in the market.
Based on a global trade portal data, Index Mundi and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Nigeria’s rice imports have been projected to rise from 2.9 million in 2025 to 3.2 million metric tonnes or 64 million bags of 50 kilogrammes in 2026 marketing year, leading to 300,000 tonnes increase.
The USDA’s data revealed that the new import was driven by favourable international prices and rising local demand. It was learnt that rice consumption in Nigeria has been forecast to reach 8.6 million tonnes, while domestic production for 2025/26 is estimated to decrease by 700,000 tonnes or 8.8 per cent to 7.9 million tonnes as All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) complained that the inflows of foreign rice were undermining domestic production and forcing many out of business.
According to the Acting Chairman of AFAN, Sakin Agbayewa, the situation had worsened since the Federal Government introduced and later renewed import duty waivers on rice and other essential commodities in 2024.
He lamented that while local bag of rice is between N60,000 and N65,000 to cover production costs, imported rice was being sold for N40,000, making it difficult for local producers to survive.
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Source : New Telegraph
