Too bad for Nigerian economy to become the world's second largest rice importer in 2019 - US agency
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| Bags of Rice |
Nigeria will emerge the world’s second-largest rice importer after China with a projected 13% jump next year to 3.4 million metric tons. This is according to a revelation from a US Department of Agriculture report.
“China and Nigeria are projected to remain the largest rice importing countries in 2019, followed by the EU, Cote d’Ivoire, and Iran,” the USDA said in its latest Rice Outlook released Tuesday, 12th of November.
“Nigeria and Egypt are projected to account for the bulk of the 2019 import increase,” reports Bloomberg.
There are reports that production had increased more than 50% since 2012 to 3.7 million tons last year. Domestic demand rose 4% to 6.7 million tons in the 2017 to 2018 year that ended in May.
It had been earlier warned by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh that Nigeria may face shortages in the supply of rice, due to the flood that embattled the country recently.
Currently, global production exceeds consumption by 2.3 million tons, according to USDA, with 2018-2019 “global ending stocks” projected to reach 163 million tons That is, 17.8 million tons more than previously forecast.
For an economy to grow, it must involve more in the production of goods and services to earn more revenue, which will add to the GDP of such economy.More production will even lead to more exportation. And when exports are greater than imports, there will be favourable balance of payments. But Nigerian economy is not a typical economy of such: Too much dependence on imports, which might affect its BoP(Balance of Payments) and other resultant economic crises.
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