Cover_Rebuilding West Africas Food Potential

8 Rebuilding West Africa’s food potential

Box 1. The phenomenal surge of rice consumption in West Africa: A combination of population

growth, urbanization, and import facilitation policies (Cont.)

According to the Africa Rice Center, consumer preferences in West Africa can be summarized as follows:

(a) Long-grain white rice with an intermediate level of starch dominates the markets in most of West Africa,

except for those markets that prefer parboiled or broken rice (see below). Preferences for broken rice differ

between countries. In Ghana, most consumers prefer rice 0-5 percent broken, but 25 percent broken is also

used in limited quantities, and 100 percent aromatic broken rice from India and Pakistan can also be sold. In

Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Mali, the predominant consumer preference is for 25 percent broken rice.

(b) Broken rice is sold as a low-quality, low-cost product in most markets, but is the preferred rice product in

Senegal and Mauritania. According to Slayton, about 500 000 MT of Thai Jasmine broken rice is typically

imported into West Africa, with three-quarters of this amount imported by Senegal and about 15 percent

by Mauritania. Overall imports of broken rice to West Africa are calculated by ITC using UN COMTRADE

data at 1.5 million MT, of which 50 percent is imported by Senegal (USAID, 2011).

(c) Parboiled rice can be either of high quality (with a golden tinge) or low quality (with a dark color and

sometimes an odor). Burkina Faso transforms a large share of its rice production into parboiled rice; this is

done mostly by women. Nigeria is one of the largest importers of fully-milled, high-quality parboiled rice

and Liberia is one of West Africa’s top importers of low-quality parboiled rice.

(d) Aromatic rice is a growing rice market segment that commands premium prices (USD 300-400/MT over

non-aromatic rice) and is imported mainly from Thailand (the benchmark) and Viet Nam. Ghana started the

trend toward this rice market segment, but it is also gaining popularity in other parts of West Africa.

Since 60 percent of West Africans are projected to live in urban areas by 2020 and the number of cities with

more than 100 000 inhabitants will grow from 78 in 2006 to more than 200 in 2030, demand for imported

staples such as rice is likely to increase. This requires a significantly upgraded staple food processing capacity in

the region.

C. Staple crops and non-food markets

Staple food crops can serve a whole range of market outlets outside of direct food consumption. Staples

like maize^2 and cassava^3 can be used as raw inputs into a wide range of food, feed and industrial products,

offering endless possibilities for agroprocessing development and huge multiplier effects within the local

or regional economies.

(^2) Maize flour, or meal (sadza, nshima, ugali and mealie pap in Africa); maize meal (replacement for wheat flour); corn-
bread and other baked products; corn syrup (sweetener instead of sugar) in thousands of food products such as soda,
candy, cookies and bread; cornstarch (a thickening agent in soups); corn for feeding cows, hogs, catfish and chickens.
(^3) Cassava uses include starch for adhesives, corrugated boards, gums, wallpaper, foundries, well-drilling, paper
industry, textile industry, wood furniture, particleboard; biofuels; alcohol products; dusting powders; drugs; plastics;
packaging; stain remover; concrete stabilizer; and remoistening gums.