• Import permits halted; existing approvals valid for two months

• Move follows regional efforts to support domestic rice markets

Burkina Faso suspended rice imports on April 29, with no end date specified, as part of broader efforts to boost sales of locally produced rice.

The government said the granting of Special Import Authorizations (SIA) for rice had been halted, while importers holding valid permits would have a two-month window to finalize import procedures. Authorities added that any non-compliance would be subject to sanctions under existing regulations, according to a joint communiqué issued by the ministries of Industry and Commerce, Economy and Finance, and Agriculture.

No official details have been provided on the challenges facing the local rice sector or on possible unsold stockpiles. The move is the latest in a series of measures across West Africa, where several countries have acted since late 2025 to support domestic sales amid strong competition from Asian imports.

Senegal introduced a subsidy of 50 CFA francs per kilogram on locally purchased rice, alongside temporary import restrictions and incentives for public institutions to prioritize domestic procurement. Mali opted to buy back 26,030 metric tons of unsold local rice to stabilize the market and support producers. Ghana, meanwhile, allocated 200 million cedis ($18 million) to the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) to purchase surplus maize and rice from farmers and supply them to public institutions such as secondary schools, hospitals and prisons, in a bid to stabilize the market.

While rice plays a more central role in diets in those three countries than in Burkina Faso, consumption has been rising in the landlocked nation in recent years. Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reviewed by Ecofin Agency show that consumption increased by nearly 300,000 metric tons between 2015 and 2022. Burkina Faso, Africa’s eighth-largest rice importer, is projected to purchase nearly 900,000 metric tons of milled rice in 2025/2026, up from 700,000 metric tons in 2021/2022, according to the USDA.

Espoir Olodo