Says there are over 200,000 tons of rice in stock, capable of feeding Cameroonians for the next four months
Following a recent outing by rice importers which muddled public opinion on the supply of the product, the Minister of Trade, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana seized the opportunity to clear the air. In a communiqué issued on June 24, the Trade Minister insists that there are no issues with the rice distribution chain. A media outing, weeks back, by the Association of Rice Importers is said to be at the centre of attraction here. Their allegation that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the importation of rice has simply been debunked and described as “imaginary.”
“Stocks presently available in the different warehouses across the country amount to slightly over 200,000 tons, representing four months of consumption, covering the period July to October 2021,” a loosely translated section of the Trade Minister’s communiquéread.
He adds that the figure didn’t even take into account current requisitions which are on transit, bound for Cameroon. This category represents not less than 100,000 more tons. Putting the two lots together, Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana insisted that this is sufficient to nourish the population until the end of 2021. By this, he reassured consumers of the measures taken by government to ensure that the supply chain remains fluid. He thus warned that there was no imminent price hike in the rice sector.
Same day, on Thursday June 24, 2021, the Association of rice importers made another press outing. This time, their key message was; “be rest assured, rice is available.” They made allusions to the fact that their last outing was taken the other way in some quarters.
With the unfolding of things, local rice producers from their ends, say this could just be the right time for more attention to be paid them. They say Cameroon’s rice production capacity is largely unexploited with the government spending billions yearly to subsidise its importation.
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