Nigeria waives taxes on selected food imports to stem rising prices

In response to the rising prices of food due to the raging inflation that affected the economy, the Nigerian government has announced plans to suspend taxes on some food imports, including wheat and maize, for 150 days and recommend a retail price to try to bring prices under control.

The move is part of the government’s new policy drive to stem food inflation, which has climbed to over 40% year-on-year, and spur growth.

The Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari, in a post on X, formerly called Twitter, announced that “to ameliorate food inflation in the country caused by affordability and exacerbated by availability, the government has taken a raft of measures to be implemented over the next 180 days.”

He stressed that the government plans to import 250,000 tons of wheat and 250,000 tons of maize, in addition to private sector imports.

Kyari added that the selected items will be imported in their semi-processed state and target supplies to small-scale processors and millers.

Food inflation has climbed to the highest levels in the West African nation, with insecurity in parts of the country’s food-producing regions and a poor road network linking farms to markets.

Rising costs of food staples have heightened the cost of living crisis and added to double-digit inflation, which is stuck at nearly three decades high.