The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) on Wednesday blamed grain hoarders and smugglers for the rising food inflation in Nigeria.
The FCCPC’s Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Tunji Bello said this during a town hall meeting with industry leaders, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), market heads, farmers, transporters, and service providers .
The country’s inflation rate, as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), rose to 32.70 per cent in September 2024, up from 32.15 per cent in August 2024.
This 0.55 per cent month-on-month increase was primarily driven by higher transportation costs and rising food prices, following the hike in petrol prices by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) in early September.
On a year-on-year basis, the inflation rate for September 2024 was 5.98 percentage points higher than the 26.72 per cent recorded in September 2023. Additionally, the headline inflation rate on a month-to-month basis in September 2024 was 2.52 per cent, a slight increase from 2.22 per cent in August 2024, reflecting a faster rise in the average price level.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural products and energy prices, stood at 27.43 per cent year-on-year in September 2024, compared to 21.84 per cent in September 2023.
Bello revealed that FCCPC investigators had discovered that some “unscrupulous grain merchants” were stockpiling newly harvested grains in warehouses to create artificial scarcity, exacerbating food inflation in Nigeria.
He said, “Without caring for the consequences of their action on fellow countrymen and women, some of these unscrupulous actors go as far as taking some of the food items they had mopped up from the farmers or the markets and smuggling them across the borders to sell at premium, thereby endangering our national food security.
“Don’t get us wrong; we are by no means saying everyone is guilty here. We only have few bad eggs involved in such unethical practices.
“It is therefore our collective responsibility to work together to achieve reasonable pricing of goods and services, especially at a time the country is undergoing bold economic reforms which may bring temporary discomfort today but will definitely usher a better economy for us tomorrow.”
In addition to grain hoarding, Bello identified price fixing and artificial barriers imposed by market associations, such as entrance levies, as other unethical practices.
Bello said the FCCPC Act prescribes severe penalties, including fines and jail terms for offenders, but the commission prefers to begin with dialogue, in the “spirit of democracy”.
Bello said President Bola Tinubu is listening to public concerns and has already begun implementing policies aimed at reducing the economic burden on Nigerians.
“We have a very listening President in the person of his excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He feels for the people and shares their pains and is ever willing to go the extra miles to take measures to cushion the effects of the hardship the ongoing economic reforms may bring,” Bello said.
“The federal government has also commenced the implementation of zero value-added tax (VAT) and excise duties on pharmaceutical products and medical devices. Just as a number of taxes has also been removed to assist micro, small, medium enterprises as well as taxes being removed from public transportation.”
FCCPC blames rising food prices on hoarders, smugglers
Udeme Bassey
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission on Wednesday blamed grain hoarders and smugglers for the rising food inflation in Nigeria.
The FCCPC’s Executive Vice Chairman, Tunji Bello said this during a town hall meeting with industry leaders, micro, small and medium enterprises, market heads, farmers, transporters, and service providers .
The country’s inflation rate, as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics, rose to 32.70 per cent in September 2024, up from 32.15 per cent in August 2024.
This 0.55 per cent month-on-month increase was primarily driven by higher transportation costs and rising food prices, following the hike in petrol prices by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) in early September.
On a year-on-year basis, the inflation rate for September 2024 was 5.98 percentage points higher than the 26.72 per cent recorded in September 2023. Additionally, the headline inflation rate on a month-to-month basis in September 2024 was 2.52 per cent, a slight increase from 2.22 per cent in August 2024, reflecting a faster rise in the average price level.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural products and energy prices, stood at 27.43 per cent year-on-year in September 2024, compared to 21.84 per cent in September 2023.
Bello revealed that FCCPC investigators had discovered that some “unscrupulous grain merchants” were stockpiling newly harvested grains in warehouses to create artificial scarcity, exacerbating food inflation in Nigeria.
He said, “Without caring for the consequences of their action on fellow countrymen and women, some of these unscrupulous actors go as far as taking some of the food items they had mopped up from the farmers or the markets and smuggling them across the borders to sell at premium, thereby endangering our national food security.
“Don’t get us wrong; we are by no means saying everyone is guilty here. We only have few bad eggs involved in such unethical practices.
“It is therefore our collective responsibility to work together to achieve reasonable pricing of goods and services, especially at a time the country is undergoing bold economic reforms which may bring temporary discomfort today but will definitely usher a better economy for us tomorrow.”
In addition to grain hoarding, Bello identified price fixing and artificial barriers imposed by market associations, such as entrance levies, as other unethical practices.
Bello said the FCCPC Act prescribes severe penalties, including fines and jail terms for offenders, but the commission prefers to begin with dialogue, in the “spirit of democracy”.
Bello said President Bola Tinubu is listening to public concerns and has already begun implementing policies aimed at reducing the economic burden on Nigerians.
“We have a very listening President in the person of his excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He feels for the people and shares their pains and is ever willing to go the extra miles to take measures to cushion the effects of the hardship the ongoing economic reforms may bring,” Bello said.
“The federal government has also commenced the implementation of zero value-added tax (VAT) and excise duties on pharmaceutical products and medical devices. Just as a number of taxes has also been removed to assist micro, small, medium enterprises as well as taxes being removed from public transportation.”
