Nigerian Government To Tackle Rising Prices

The Federal Government and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) are making moves to tackle increase in price of rice through increase in its production just as it has been discovered that Nigerians consume five million MT of rice per year.

According to the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) Business Group-Nigeria (NBGN), the rising price of rice was attributable to shortage of supply as the available demand could not meet the 5 milion MT demands of Nigerians.

NBGN is also organizing Nigeria Rice Investment Forum 2008 on November 24 to create an environment for increase in rice production in Nigeria and West Africa. Attributing the low competitiveness of the local industry to poor access to inputs and output markers, the NBGN said another constraint was the absence of public goods and the environment needed to support production in the rice producing states.