President Bola Tinubu has just approved a temporary ban on the imposition of import duties on some categories of food items in an attempt to reverse spiraling food prices and avert scarcity in Nigeria.
This was disclosed when the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, stood in for him at the public presentation of the book “My Life in the Public Eye,” authored by Olusegun Osoba, in Lagos.
The President further explained that these measures are meant to curb increasing food costs and enable Nigerians to have access to more affordable essential foodstuffs.
She said this afternoon that the ones the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, had announced as part of his ministry’s earlier measures are more or less stopgap resolutions to the current situation.
“We are taking steps to address food shortages by temporarily removing tariffs on imported grains and other food items,” the president stated.
“We will continue to drive local production and ensure that we produce what we eat and use locally,” he added.
Policy Details and Implementation
A couple of days ago, Nairametrics disclosed the approval of a 150-day duty-free window on the importation of maize, husked brown rice, and wheat from the Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari.
This is part of a broader strategy to counter the rising food inflation that has Hard-pressed the country. It is all part of the grand plan as the federal government seeks to manage this issue of food security through this duty-free window for selected food commodities in the next 180 days.
He said: “The Ministry will engage with the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit and the Economic Management Team (EMT) to conclude the implementation framework of these policy initiatives within the next 14 days.“
“A 150-Day Duty-Free Import Window for Food Commodities Suspension of duties, tariffs, and taxes for the importation of certain food commodities (through land and sea borders). These commodities include maize, husked brown rice, wheat, and cowpeas. Under this arrangement, imported food commodities will be subjected to a Recommended Retail Price (RRP),” he said.
Consumer Relief
President Tinubu acknowledged the concerns but insisted on the fact that it is the current crisis that has dictated the temporary suspension of import duties.
He said that his administration was committed to the re-establishment of a framework that will encourage and boost local agricultural production in the long run. This has had a telling impact on the majority of households in Nigeria, where inflation has been rampant, with food inflation having gone past the 40% mark.
Hopes lie on the recently effected suspension of import duties on some major food items to act as some relief by reducing the supply gap and, hence, making essential food items more affordable.
President Tinubu’s administration is treading a very delicate balancing act between offering immediate relief to the consumer and attaining long-term objectives in food self-sufficiency.
Though short-term in nature and design to alleviate the urgent food crisis, the government’s worry and priority is increasing local production and ensuring sustainable food security.
Moving Forward
In the coming weeks, the government will be closely watched as it rolls out the duty-free importation policy. This is important in that the Ministry of Agriculture, the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit, and the EMT harmonize their work with the policy and address any arising unintended consequences.
The administration of President Tinubu provided reassurance to the nation of his commitment to the success of the policy pertaining to the principles of transparency and stakeholder participation in this process.
The next several months will indeed be really crucial for the effectiveness of these policies and how they will impact the local agricultural sector and the national economy.