Walid Battal
Recently, ECOFIN Agency reported that, according to the International Rice Statistics Observatory (OSIRIZ), rice imports in Africa fell by over 11% in 2023 compared to 2022 (16.6 million tons in 2023, down from 18.7 million tons in 2022).
Africa accounts for more than 30% of global rice imports. What are the reasons for this sudden drop in imports?
This volume, the lowest since 2021, can be attributed to reduced purchases by major importing countries: Nigeria (from 2.4 to 2.2 million tons), Côte d’Ivoire (from 2 to 1.7 million tons), and Senegal (from 1.9 to 1.4 million tons). Here are five main reasons explaining the decline in rice imports:
– Increase in Local Production : Higher local rice production has reduced dependency on imports in some African countries, such as Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, thanks to the BRISPI program.
– Advances in Agricultural Technologies : Adoption of new agricultural technologies, particularly investments in irrigation, has improved African rice yields.
– Government Initiatives : Several African countries have implemented favorable policies and programs to develop agricultural lands and rice farms.
– Positive Climate Changes : Favorable climatic conditions in some regions have led to more abundant rice harvests than usual.
– Introduction of New Rice Varieties : Some countries have improved rice varieties by introducing more resistant and higher-yielding species.
These factors explain why Africa’s rice imports reached 16.6 million tons in 2023. Africa remains one of the largest rice importers globally, after Asia.