Kano residents lament high cost of rice despite mass production by farmers- Most residents in Kano have cried out over the high cost of rice in the state - Kano residents also lamented that the popular staple food is gradually becoming unaffordable - Merchants attributed the high cost to the increase in the price of paddy and introduction of middlemen in the business PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Legit.ng News on your Facebook News Feed! Despite the mass production of rice by farmers in Kano, residents have lamented the high cost of the staple food in the state as it is gradually becoming unaffordable to the common man. According to Daily Trust, rice merchants attributed the recent high cost to the introduction of middlemen in the business and a hike in the price of paddy as well. A market survey showed that a bag of locally milled rice which cost N16,000 as at January 2020 is now sold between N22,000 to N24,000 per 50kg. A bag of paddy now goes for N16,000 as against the N9,500 price back in January. Read also Coronavirus: Traders reveal hike in cost of food items as Easter beckons Meanwhile, Musa Idris a small-scale rice mill owner explained that the hike in paddy is gradually forcing many mini rice mills to increase their rice price or stop production because they lack the capacity to buy and process at such a high price. Bala Sani Maitan, a rice paddy merchant, on his part said most of the merchants were purely businessmen who buy and store paddy just to mop it out of the market and sell at an exorbitant price after creating artificial scarcity. The Kano state commissioner of commerce and industry, Alhaji Ibrahim Mukhtar, noted that the government was aware of the development and measures are already being taken to address the issue. PAY ATTENTION: Get the Latest Nigerian News Anywhere 24/7. Spend less on the Internet! Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Governor Mohammed Abubakar of Jigawa state blamed the high cost of food in the country on past leaders describing them as chronic importers. Read also Coronavirus: Engaging activities you can do to avoid boredom following the stay at home order He said this at the virtual inauguration of 12 projects across six geopolitical zones of the country by Dr. Ali Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy, on Thursday, August 21, in Abuja. According to him, food was expensive in Nigeria because there were no policy direction or any form of substitution to importation. In a related development, the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI)/Inflation report for the month of July 2020, with the country's headline inflation rising to 12.82 per cent from 12.56 per cent in June. According to the report, food inflation also rose to 15.48 percent in July from 15.18 percent in the previous month. The report indicates that core inflation rose to 10.10 percent from 10.13 percent in June. Coronavirus: Yam, rice and garri are the main food selling - Market women | Legit TV Read also Xenophobia: Nigerians are worse than South Africans - Comedian Hyenana reacts to ongoing protest in Nigeria Source: Legit.ng - Most residents in Kano have cried out over the high cost of rice in the state - Kano residents also lamented that the popular staple food is gradually becoming unaffordable - Merchants attributed the high cost to the increase in the price of paddy and introduction of middlemen in the business PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Legit.ng News on your Facebook News Feed! PAY ATTENTION: Legit.ng