- Liberia depends heavily on India for the import of rice, its staple food. But the continued lockdown in India to curb the spread of the pandemic has brought a crisis for the country.
- Liberia imports around 350,000 tonnes of rice annually from India.
Liberia depends heavily on India for the import of rice, its staple food. But the continued lockdown in India to curb the spread of the pandemic has brought a crisis for the country.
Liberia imports around 350,000 tonnes of rice annually from India. This has dropped to 200 because of lower bookings. In 2020, rice imports from India by Liberia were 380 thousand tonnes though the import quantity fluctuated substantially earlier. But it saw steady growth through 1971 – 2020 periods ending at 380 thousand tonnes in 2020.
The shipments are also delayed from India due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, importers have been demanding an increase in the price of rice in a bid to offset the losses. Calls have also heightened for stocks to be increased with importers fearing major losses if things do not improve.
The Rice Importers Association has pointed out that there is a worldwide increment in freight while at the same time fees for services at the National Port Authority (NPA) have also gone up. The fees of vessel and warehouse operation by the Association of Liberia Stacking Companies has also gone up. No increment was applied since their last agreement with importers in 2016.
