Niger bans grain exports to all countries except Burkina Faso and Mali

Niger’s military authorities have banned rice, cereal and other food exports to all countries except fellow junta-led Burkina Faso and Mali to protect local supply, the government has said. With the Sahel nation experiencing high inflation on certain foods, the products banned for export besides rice include legumes such as cowpea as well as cereals like millet, sorghum and corn. Junta chief Abdourahamane Tiani took the measure “to protect the supply of the internal market” and “make the goods of mass consumption accessible”, the government said in a statement late on Wednesday. “These prohibitions do not apply to exports” to Mali and Burkina Faso, Niger’s allied neighbours which are also ruled by military leaders who took power in coups, the statement added. Punishments for those infringing the ban range from the seizure of shipments to criminal penalties. Niger is a key regional supplier of cereals, especially for some states in neighbouring Nigeria. Although the sanctions ...