Valentine Okafor
The West African Parboiled 5 per cent rice market has slumped to a near two-year low as supplies flood into regional markets following India’s removal of export duties on parboiled rice, according to market participants.
Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Commodity Insights, assessed parboiled 5 per cent STX CFR Cotonou at $434/mt on April 23, marking a decline of $82/mt over the past three months.
The influx of lower-priced rice from India has filled warehouses to capacity, according to market participants.
Over September-December India exported approximately 2.11 million mt of parboiled 5 per day broken rice to West Africa, up sharply from 720,000 mt in the same period of 2023, according to the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority.
In 2024 as a whole India exported 5.35 million mt of parboiled 5 per cent broken rice to West Africa, up from 3.9 million mt in 2023.
Commenting on the broader market conditions, a trader based in Togo said: “The current situation in almost every region of West Africa is the same: quiet and bearish.”
As Nigeria, the largest rice market for Benin, continues to illegally import rice from Benin, both local and imported rice prices in Nigeria have plummeted over the past two weeks.
One miller said prices for local rice had dropped from Naira 80,000-90,000 ($49-$56) per 50 kg bag to Naira 60,000 ($37) per 50 kg bag. Indian imported rice prices have dropped from Naira 80,000-110,000 per 50 kg bag to Naira 58,000-59,000 per 50 kg bag.
Despite the price decline, demand has not risen correspondingly. With prices continuing to slide daily, buyers are adopting a cautious approach, waiting for stabilization before making purchases.
A trader based in Benin said demand was only likely to increase once the Christmas season comes into focus, around September.