Bag of rice now N22,000 on policy implementation

The federal government has said the prices of a bag of rice has fallen to N22,000 from the almost N100,000 it stood at this same time last year.

According to a sponsored self assessment programme aired on Arise Television Saturday, the documentary said the Federal Government has spent billions of naira on the agriculture sector to boost production and expressed hope that the price, along side other commodities will continie to come down as the Tinubu Hope agenda policy continues to yeild result.

Overserverswho spioke with Blueprint Newspaper agreed, saying this the first time in many years that the price of rice had not redponded to the Christmas stimuli.

“Instead of the prices of rice to go up, the prices actually came down. Even the prices of tomatoes and pepper pleasantly moderated downwards”, one of them said.

Even analysis of rice price trend carrried out between November 2024 and November 2025 showed remarkable descent in prices of rice.

According to Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, rice prices in key Nigerian markets dropped by as much as 32 per cent since January, driven by a global surplus and aggressive export flows from major producers.

The research notes that local rice now trades at N58,000–N70,000 ($40-$49) per 50kg bag compared to N85,000 (US$58) at the beginning of the year, while imported brands are fetching N65,000–N75,000 ($45-$52) per 50kg bag, down from N95,000 (US$65) in January.

Platts, assessed five per cent broken parboiled rice CFR Cotonou at $399/mt for January to early February 2026 delivery, down $115/mt, or 22 per cent Year-on-Year (YoY,) from $514/mt assessed on November, 2024.

Cotonou port remains the principal entry point for parboiled rice into West Africa, especially Nigeria, but is now flush with stock.

Traders warn that India and Thailand have been flooding the West African corridor following record harvests and the lifting of export restrictions on parboiled rice. Parboiled rice remains the preferred staple format across Nigeria and much of the region’s urban consumption base, including miller supply chains for blended and branded retail packs.

The sharp fall in Nigerian market prices is squeezing traders who held long positions earlier in the year expecting carry-over second to third quarters price strength.