Lagos to commence commercial sale of Eko Rice in June

By Cynthia Ezekwe

The commercial sale of Eko Rice produced at the  Imota rice mill has commenced  in some parts of the state and will hit major markets in June 2023.

Oluwarotimi Fashola, the special adviser to the governor on agriculture and rice mill initiative, made this known, noting that the rice would hit major by the first week of June, while adding that  the commercial sales began recently in  Ikeja axis to civil servants and some institutions in the state.

According to  Fashola, a 50kg bag of Eko Rice would cost between N32,000 and N33,000 while the 25kg bag would be sold at prices ranging between N17,000 and N18,000.

He explained  that the price of Eko Rice was not on the high side when compared with the same quality of rice in the major markets at N38,000 for a 50kg bag.

Fashola pointed out that the major challenges recorded so far are the issue of   distributor price and the market price, as he explained that the market price averagely is between N32,000 and N33,000 for the 50kg bag, and  the 25kg bag is fixed between N17,000 and N18,000, while the  same quality of rice in the major market is sold for N38,000 for the 50kg bag

 Fashola, who could not ascertain the exact quantity of Eko Rice to be distributed to the major markets noted that  the distribution would be a  gradual process, stressing  that the quality of the product would not be compromised.

“Quality is important and we will not lower our quality because we want to have our masses. It is a gradual process and the distribution is a monthly thing,’’ he said.