Christmas: Uncertainty on rice in Lagos homes as price spirals

As Nigerians celebrate Christmas today, many families and residents in the Lagos metropolis have expressed concern they may not be able to afford rice, a food item commonly associated with the celebration.

This is because the price of the staple has increased astronomically, from between prices of N14,000 and N20,000 for the 50kg bag last year to N17,000 and N31,000 this year, depending on the brand.

It has been an age-long practice in many homes in Lagos for Christians not only to cook rice for their families on Christmas day but to also distribute it to neighbours and merry with it with friends later in the day.

With the ban on foreign rice, Nigerians have been compelled to be eating local rice, which is still produced in numbers that can nowhere match demand. The price of unpolished local ofada rice varies from N400 to N500 per the De Rica tin, while the cheapest polished local rice of the same tin sells for N300, with no guarantee stones would not be consumed along with the rice.

In a data released by nigerianprice.com this December, an unpolished 50kg of ofada rice is sold for N25,000 to N28,000. A 50kg Mama Gold rice is sold for N26,000 to N30,000 and Royal Stallion is between N25,000 and N29,000. A 50kg bag of Rice Master is between N26,000 and N30,000, while Caprice sells for N25,500 to N31,000.

Middle class and poor Lagos residents who cannot afford to buy Mama Gold, Caprice and the other expensive brands that sell above N20,000 per 50kg bag have been queuing endlessly to purchase the Lagos State government rice, Lake Rice which is being sold in 10 locations across the state for N17,000 per 50kg and N8,500 for 25kg.  There was an allegation that some of the government officials in charge of the rice sale were collecting N2,000 to N3000 before selling it.

The state’s Ministry of Agriculture spokesperson, Jide Lawal, however, debunked the allegation, saying the rice was being paid for through a PoS and no official would dare inflate the price to avoid facing the wrath of the government.