Federal Government suspends taxes and import duties on food commodities

In an effort to curb soaring food prices, the federal government has announced a suspension of duties, tariffs and taxes on imported food commodities.

This development was announced in a statement on Monday, by Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security.

He stressed that duties, tariffs and taxes on imported corn, brown rice, wheat and peas — through land and sea borders — would be suspended.

Kyari said a 150-day duty-free import window for food commodities would be introduced as part of measures to be implemented over the next 180 days to address food inflation in Nigeria.

He said the measures were part of the accelerated stabilization and progress plan recently presented to President Bola Tinubu by the economic management team (EMT) under the Presidential Economic Coordination Council (PECC) set up by the president in March.

The minister said various taxes and levies, infrastructure challenges and “the eagerness of marketers and traders” had contributed to rising food prices.

“Over the past few months, we have all witnessed the increase in food prices across the country. There is hardly any food item whose prices have not increased to levels beyond what many Nigerians can afford,” Kyari said.

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“The affordability crisis in our food security system has been indexed by data from the National Bureau of Statistics which, according to the latest calculations, has placed food inflation at 40.66%.

“We have heard the complaints of Nigerians about the prices of food and spices, and some are now describing tomatoes as gold and suggesting recipes for preparing soups and dishes with some of the overpriced ingredients.

“What were once considered commonplace items like yams, plantains, potatoes are now priced very high and Nigerians are right to wonder how and why these items have become that way.”

Kyari added that imported food commodities will be subject to recommended retail prices (HET).

“I recognise that some good citizens may be concerned about the quality of food commodities to be imported as this relates to the growing concerns surrounding the genetic composition of food,” the minister said.

“I am pleased to reaffirm that the government’s position is to set standards that will not compromise the safety of a wide range of foods for consumption.”

In addition to imports by the private sector, Kyari said the government would import 250,000 metric tonnes of wheat and maize.

According to the minister, the imported food commodities in a semi-finished state will target supplies to small-scale processors and mills in the country.

He said the government would collaborate with relevant stakeholders to set guaranteed minimum prices (HET) and absorb surpluses of various food commodities to replenish national strategic food reserves.

Kyari added that the government will continue to increase production for the 2024/2025 agricultural cycle.

FG suspends taxes, import duties on food commodities first appeared on Latest Nigeria News | Headlines from Ripples Nigeria.