Nigeria has received a shipment of 32,000 tonnes of brown rice from Thailand, marking the first major import of the commodity in a decade, as the government seeks to reduce the prices of food.

A report by Bloomberg said the shipment, facilitated by maritime logistics firm Ducat, arrived in Lagos under a federal policy suspending import tariffs on essential food items.

“Nigeria has been working hard to find solutions to broaden and strengthen its food supply accessibility,” said Adrian Beciri, CEO of Ducat.

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Nigeria introduced a duty-free initiative in July 2024, which also included a 150-day suspension of tariffs, duties, and taxes on commodities such as rice, maize, wheat, and cowpeas.

However, delays in implementation, attributed to the Ministry of Finance, hindered its early progress.

In September, Finance Minister Wale Edun, met with customs officials to fast-track the policy’s execution.

Despite these efforts, inflation remains a pressing issue, with November’s consumer price index (CPI) reporting overall inflation at 34.6 per cent and food inflation at 39.93 per cent.