LAGOS: To bridge the demand-supply gap in the rice industry, Olam Nigeria Limited has unveiled its locally produced rice to the Nigerian market.
Speaking at the official launch of the 50kg bags of rice in Lagos, recently, Olam’s Business Head for Rice, Anil Nair explained that the launch was designed to meet growing local demands for the commodity as well as reduce its importation.
He explained that the launch of the commodity in Lagos was strategic since the state holds the largest market of consumers of rice.
He said, “There are lots of paddy been produced and Lagos being the biggest market in the country is having local rice coming to it. It is a sign of good things to come and we hope that two years from now, we will be able to bridge the gap. We have a milling capacity of about 800,000 tonnes in the country and we hope to help this country eliminate import completely.
“Although, moving the commodity through the road network has been a major challenge affecting the cost of production but we believe overtime, we will overcome this challenge. It is just a matter of time for all these to be put in place. The transformation agenda of the federal government is commendable, there are many people working with agenda and others too will come in the nearest future”.
On the perception that imported brands of rice are of higher quality than locally produced ones, Nair explained that the issue is just a mindset issue, adding that, “it is a practice of milling. If you have state-of-the-art machineries, you can eliminate stones and dust completely. The Nigerian rice is more nutritious than the rice from anywhere else. The quality of the soil and fertilizers are very good and perfect. The company has been into backward integration of rice since 2004.
“The initial challenge we had in our facility in Benue State was having paddy of good quality and varieties but this in the last four years has reduced. We also have thousands of outgrowers working with us and we also buy paddy from the market.
“The challenges are being eliminated slowly. Smuggling is also one of the biggest concerns that we have because if you go round the Nigerian market, you will see a lot of smuggled rice in the market. I believe farmers and manufacturers are finding it difficult to compete with imported rice”.
The integrated rice milling facility is expected to provide 36, 000 metric tonnes (MT) of milled rice yearly to the domestic market, contributing to the Federal Government’s goal to improve rice self-sufficiency.
National President, Rice Traders Association of Nigeria, Mrs Olufunmilayo Akinsanya said: “We are very happy to see that this type of high quality rice can be grown here in Nigeria.
