Prices of paddy drop in states

Prices of paddy are beginning to come down in many grain markets in the country as the dry season harvest begins, a Daily Trust survey has shown.

Paddy is rice in its husk before threshing, and is the major ingredient required by millers to produce the finished product for consumption.

In the last three years, a bag of paddy was sold at between N9,000 and N20,000 for 100kg, depending on the variety and quality. However, between the last quarter of 2023 and this year, it reached between N55,000 and N70,000, depending on the location.

Besides other factors like price of diesel and cost of transportation, the high cost of paddy was linked directly to high cost of rice, which rose to N80,000 for 50kg in certain locations across the country.

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But investigations by our correspondents have shown that with the ongoing harvest and the relative appreciation of the value of the naira, prices of paddy are on a downward trajectory.

Our correspondent in Kebbi State reports that the price of paddy has dropped significantly in most of the areas where rice is cultivated.

Few months back, 100kg of the produce across various rice markets in the state was sold for between N50,000 and N55,000.

But at Aljanari and Suru, the hub of rice production in the state, paddy is currently being sold for between N43,000 and N45,000, respectively.

It is also being sold at between N42,000 and N45,000 in the Dakingari area of the state, as against N50,000 and N56,000 before now.

A trader at the Ambursa rice market, Abubakar Sa’adu, told Daily Trust that they are currently witnessing a drop in the price of paddy at various markets in the state.

“Depending on the quality, it is even being sold at N37,000 in some places,” he said.

Another rice trader at the popular Kamba Rice Market, Suleiman Gado, said it was being speculated that the price of paddy would still drop in the next few months.

“If the Niger Republic border is opened fully for traders to bring in their paddy, this would further crash the paddy price. The price has been dropping almost every week in the last one month now,” he said.

In Birnin Kebbi, Argungu and Augie areas of the state, paddy has also witnessed a drop in price.

A farmer at the Duku Rice Farm in Birnin Kebbi, Aliyu Zauro, said the dry season harvest was responsible.

In Niger State, our correspondent reports that the price has also come down in the past few weeks.

Farmers and dealers who spoke said the price now ranges from between N39,000 and N42,000 for a 100kg bag of paddy.

One of the farmers, Aliyu Mohammed, said: “There are two categories of buyers. There are those who buy with scale. They weigh the bags and buy based on what each bag reads. For that one, the price ranges between N40,000 and N42,000 as against N45,000 for which it was sold weeks ago.

“Then, there are women processors who buy directly from farmers. They don’t use scale and they currently buy at N39,000 per bag. So, truly, the price has come down,” he said.

He, however, lamented that despite the high yield in irrigation farming in the state this year, processors have mopped up the paddy rice from rural areas where the majority of farmers live.

Also speaking, one of the dealers in paddy rice in the state, Mallam Muhammadu Mahmud, said: “It is true that the price has come down for the past few weeks. Right now, you can get a bag of paddy rice at N41,000 or N42,000 as against N45,000 for which it was being sold weeks ago.”

At Larabar Tambarin Gwani Market in Dutse, the capital of Jigawa State, a bag of paddy was sold for N55,000 on Wednesday, April 17, down from N60,000 the previous weeks. Paddy sellers in the market attribute the drop in price to “oversupply” of the product.

A trader, Zakari Ya’u said they sold a mudu (a local measurement) of paddy for N1,600, down from N1,700 last week, saying the reduction in the price was not only in Laraba Market, but also in other markets in Jigawa and beyond. He expressed happiness that the price was coming down.

Daily Trust observed that Larabar Tambarin Gwani Market is a major grain market in Dutse, attracting people from various parts of the country.

Similarly, in Taraba State, the price of paddy is also declining as a 100kg bag, which was sold at N50,000 last week, came down to N40,000 this week.

A dealer at the Mutum Biyu Market, Musa Kamal, said two factors were responsible for the drop in price.

“Some farmers decided to sell their paddy to raise money for the rainy season farming, following the early arrival of rainfall in the state.

“The second factor is that grains flooded the market and there were few buyers, leading to the crash in the price of grains,” he said.

In Katsina, our correspondent reports that a 100kg of paddy has dropped to between N40,000 and N45,000 from N55,000 and N60,000.

A rice processor and former Chairman, Local Rice Millers Association in Bakori Local Government Area, Mallam Isah Matsayi, said: “Kano, Jigawa, Kebbi and Taraba states have advantage of water bodies over us hence, their price of paddy is most times lower than ours”.

He said in the last harvest season, the price of the produce started from N30,000 and towards March, it reached N40,000.

“Cost of transportation is involved. The paddy we were buying from Bagudo, Suru, Samanaji, Aljannare and Koko in Kebbi State reached N50,000, before its price came down to between N40,000  and N45,000 as a result of naira appreciation and the reopening of the (Niger Republic) border.”

Price of foreign rice dropped in Kano

Our reporter in Kano reports that prices of rice and some other imported food items have decreased in various markets.

Findings revealed that the price of Thailand rice has decreased from N87,000 and above to N66,500 for a 50kg bag, in the past few days.

However, the price of locally produced rice remains unchanged, as it goes for N87,000 and above, depending on the brand.

Two rice millers who spoke with our correspondents admitted that the cost of paddy had reduced, but quickly said other factors must be met for the price of the processed rice to come down.

One of them said: “It is true, paddy has come down because of the dry season harvest, especially in Niger State. We get the bulk of our supply from there.

“However, we still pay a lot of money to transport the paddy to Kano and we also spend a lot on electricity and diesel (used for processing),” he said.

The other miller called on the federal and state governments to give adequate support and protection to farmers so that the harvests will not cease.

“The market must be saturated with supply so that the price will crash further. And you can only achieve this when there is all- year farming.

“We are happy that there is supply from irrigation farmers. Also, some rich people who hoarded the paddy from the last cropping season are bringing it out; maybe because they are afraid of what will happen in the coming days.

“Secondly, the government should find a way of making electricity affordable to us. This is very important so that the price of the processed rice will come down,” he said.

A trader at Singa Market, Basiru Dauda Kunya said that the notable price reduction for foreign rice could be attributed to the fall in the exchange rate of the dollar against the naira.