By: H. Richard Fallah
MONROVIA: The Government of Liberia (GOL), through its information minister, Ledgerhood J. Rennie, has dismissed assertions by the Political Leader of the opposition Movement for Progressive Change (MPC), who is also a Liberian Presidential Hopeful, Simeon Freeman, that rice shortage is imminent in the country.
Minister Rennie, on Tuesday, August 8, 2023, clarified that there will be no shortage of rice on the local market and that there is sufficient rice to supply the local market up to 2024.
He, however, acknowledged that there is a ban imposed by the Republic of India on rice as it was earlier on said by the MPC standard bearer.
Minister Rennie further clarified that the ban by the Indian government does not cover the type of rice (parboiled rice) that Liberia imports for local consumption.
“The Indian Government’s ban on rice imports instead covers basmati rice and not parboiled rice,” Minister Rennie said in a press release.
However, speaking Monday, August 7, 2023, the opposition MPC Presidential hopeful cautioned that there is a looming rice crisis due to the ban the World’s biggest exporter, India, placed on the exportation of rice.
According to Mr. Freeman, Liberia is expected to undergo serious rice shortage and food insecurity as a result of India’s unwillingness to export rice due to some global factors.
Speaking via Prime FM and relayed to several media institutions across the country, the opposition politician maintains that India is the biggest importer of rice in the word and it is also Liberia’s biggest partner in terms of rice importation.
“I am not President but, my greatest worry today is, we are going to find it difficult in getting rice going forward, especially in December,” Mr. Freeman noted.
Freeman: “Indian has banned the exportation of rice. India did that about two weeks ago and you know what that means for Liberia. Currently, India is the biggest exporter of rice in the World.”
The MPC political leader explained that the Indian Government’s ban is a result of the war that is currently ongoing between Ukraine and Russia.
He added that the Indian Government pointed out that their reason to ban the exportation of rice is also due to the climatic conditions, therefore, they are keeping their rice, sugar and other agriculture products to themselves until the crisis can be handled.
Nevertheless, Mr. Freeman recommended that in order for Liberia to prevent the purported looming rice crisis, the country should prioritize and invest in agriculture.
The presidential hopeful opined that Liberians should now learn from this and invest in agriculture because the country is headed for a serious crisis.
MPC Freeman: “We have kill President in this country because of rice and so this government needs to be careful and find means to handle this looming rice crisis. What I want to do in my administration is to integrate opportunity for Liberia to prevent urban migration.”
In his assertion, Freeman described Liberia as a manufacturer of poverty, adding that after every six years, Liberia prioritizes foreign rice while the people are poor because there is no opportunity for Liberians.
According to research, the top five rice exporting countries in the World are India, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan and the United States of America which generate three-quarters (72.8%) of the global value for rice exports during 2022.
The record indicates: India: US$10.8 billion (36.8% of total rice exports), Thailand: $4 billion (13.5%), Vietnam: $2.5 billion (8.6%), and Pakistan: $2.4 billion (8%). Others include the United States: $1.7 billion (5.8%), China: $1 billion (3.5%), Italy: $804.7 million (2.7%), Myanmar: $786.8 million (2.7%), Brazil: $657.5 million (2.2%).
Furthermore, Belgium: $515.6 million (1.8%), Uruguay: $498 million (1.7%), Cambodia: $416 million (1.4%), Netherlands: $385 million (1.3%), Paraguay: $293.4 million (1%), Spain: $238 million (0.8%).
By value, the above 15 countries were responsible for 92% of globally exported rice in 2022.
