By Felix Onuah
ABUJA, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Nigeria has partially closed its
western border with Benin to curb rice smuggling that is
threatening the country's attempt to boost local production, the
government said on Wednesday.
The government wants Nigeria to be self-sufficient in rice
and has imposed import controls but these have kept prices high
and led to smuggling from Benin into Nigeria.
President Muhammadu Buhari has introduced policies since
taking office in 2015 that are aimed at curbing imports to boost
local production and conserve foreign exchange reserves.
He said rice smuggling across the western border threatened
his policy of self-sufficiency.
"The country has saved huge sums of money which would
otherwise have been expended on importing rice using our scarce
foreign reserves," Buhari was quoted as saying in a statement
issued by his spokesman. "We cannot allow smuggling of the
product at such alarming proportions to continue."
The statement did not say when the border was partially
closed.
Buhari also said there would be a meeting with Benin and
Niger, Nigeria's northern neighbours, to determine measures to
check smuggling across the borders.
He said the border closure was limited to allow security
forces stem the trend and that he would consider fully
re-opening the border in the future.
The government has said Nigeria's imports of rice and wheat
together cost almost $4 billion a year but its 190 million
people rely on imports for most of what they consume due to
limited manufacturing capacity.
The country has considered developing agriculture for export
to earn more hard currency and to increase revenues from outside
its dominant oil industry.
Earlier this month, Buhari told the central bank to stop
providing foreign exchange for food imports as part of his drive
to bolster the country's agriculture sector.
Nigerian Rice https://tmsnrt.rs/2MrRJEQ
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(Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha;
Editing by Alexis Akwagyiram and Jane Merriman)