KEY POINTS

• Bureaucratic hurdles at Nigeria’s Finance Ministry and Customs are delaying the implementation of the zero-food import duty policy.
• The policy aims to reduce food costs and boost local food security by making essential imports cheaper.
• Stakeholders are calling for streamlined processes to ensure the timely rollout of the initiative.

Nigeria’s no-food import duty policy which was intended to reduce the cost of food importation and boost food security is now wobbled by bureaucratic procedures by the Ministry of Finance and the Nigeria Customs Service.

The much-hyped policy which was expected to reduce the price of basic food items through the removal of import duties has not been fully implemented to the dismay of both importers and sellers who are facing hard times due to high food prices.

The policy that aimed at encouraging firms to import essential foods without incurring any import duty was believed to offer a solution to the factors that have led to high food prices in Nigeria such as inflation, rise in food prices everywhere, disruption of the supply chain, and high input costs in the agricultural sector.

It also tends towards basic food items to be cheaper for the Nigerian populace, and to boost local industries through the abolition of duties on imported food items.

However, the policy has faced several challenges as a result of bureaucracy, and many of them directed the Finance Ministry and the Nigeria Customs Service as the meddling factors.

According to the importers, they have encountered a lot of difficulties in having to streamline the processes involved to benefit from the duty exemptions.

Problems at the finance ministry and customs

The insiders in the business have mentioned that one of the problems is that the Ministry of Finance takes a long time to process the paperwork which has not been necessary at all.

This, together with problems experienced at Customs, has slowed down the implementation of the policy as envisaged.

The initiative was welcomed by importers as they saw it would help them import food items at a cheaper price, however, they are now trapped in a hornet’s nest of bureaucracy, which has prolonged the high cost of imported food items.

The same Business Day also pointed out how even Customs officers are getting a feel of it and applying the policy.

As far as the provisions of the policy and how the importers can take advantage of the duty exemption are concerned; there are no laid down rules or best practices on which products this duty applies to or how to apply for such.

This has created a lot of confusion among the businesses which are in the process of importing basic food products at cheaper prices.

Impact of the deployed intervention on food security and economy

The failure to fully actualize the policy of zero import duty on foods is a major factor that is threatening food security in Nigeria.

As inflation hits our markets and as the prices of rice, wheat, and cooking oil reach the roof; you can imagine the number of people who are counting their losses in Nigeria today.

The policy seeks to achieve this aim by lowering the costs of importing these necessary goods; however, the gains have not been felt because of a lack of promptness.

Further, the domestic companies that depend on imported foods are experiencing higher costs that they pass on to consumers. This is worsening the already ailing economic status for most families.

The failure to implement the policy is likely to erode the government’s other measures aimed at stabilizing food prices and spurring economic growth.

Calls for urgent action

Players in the agricultural and business fraternity are now putting pressure on the government to address the issue of bureaucratic entanglements.

Some critics have further argued that in its current state, the change cannot occur unless the procedures of the Ministry of Finance and Customs are even made streamlined and related.

As for the remaining two, analysts suggest that the government should perform more to improve the communication on the policy and ensure that the Customs officials as well as the importers are fully aware of the procedures to be followed in the realization of the duty waivers.

In addition, eliminating paperwork and bureaucracy in the country could make the zero-food import duty policy work as expected.

But there is hope that in the long run, the policy will help to bring the food price down and improve the food security policy of Nigeria.

If there is better coordination in the government, the policy could bring significant help to consumers and local industries that rely on food importation.