Imported Rice (Long Grain) at 1 Paint fell from ₦4,725 to ₦4,712 across eight Lagos markets in the week to 14 August 2026, a decline of about ₦12 or 0.3%, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems market survey.
The Line Between Retail and Wholesale
The paint sits between the Derica and the bag, and this week it behaved like the bag rather than the Derica. Long grain rose 2.6% at 1 Derica while falling 0.3% at 1 Paint, 1.3% at 25kg and 1.2% at 50kg. Whatever lifted the Derica price did not reach the paint measure, which points to margin at the smallest retail unit rather than any change in the cost of the grain arriving in Lagos.
A ₦700 Gap Between Markets
A paint costs ₦4,300 at Agbalata Market and ₦5,000 at Agege Market, a premium of 16.3%. A household buying four paints a month spends ₦17,200 at Agbalata prices and ₦20,000 at Agege prices, a difference of ₦2,800. Agbalata is also the cheapest market for long grain at both 25kg and 50kg, so the pattern is consistent across every large measure of this grain.
What the Reporting Supports
BusinessDay reported paddy prices down 51% to ₦350,800 a tonne alongside a cut in import duty on bulk rice to 47.5% from 70%, conditions that agree with flat to falling prices at paint and bag scale. AgroNigeria agreed that cheaper imports had brought relief to consumers while straining local millers. Legit.ng agreed on the mechanism, reporting that dealers cut prices as imported grain flooded the market. The Whistler agreed on the volume of inflows and the tariff changes behind them. None of the four points to upstream pressure that would justify a rising retail price.
Coverage Note
Eight of the 10 markets contribute to this line, standard for long grain in this dataset. The 0.3% move sits within the range where week-to-week readings can shift on composition alone, so it is best read as flat.
Live prices: foodprices.ng/real-time-prices/?brand_name=Imported+Rice+(Long+Grain)
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