LAGOS, NIGERIA — BUA Foods on Dec. 2 announced on social media plans to expand its rice business with construction of a 32-tonne-per-hour rice processing line. The Nigerian-based company did not disclose the location of the project, which will be overseen by Switzerland-based Bühler AG.
BUA Foods, a subsidiary of BUA Group, operates the country’s largest rice mill in Kano, which has a milling capacity of 200,000 tonnes per year. The company said it plans to eventually expand the mill to process up to 1 million tonnes per year.
Rice accounts for a small but growing share of BUA’s revenue, which was reported at just over $1 billion in 2024, according to the company’s annual report. Sugar and flour milling are the largest business segments for BUA, combining for nearly 87% of its revenue. In 2024, rice sales generated $3.8 million for BUA Foods, doubling the previous year’s revenue in that segment.
Nigeria has seen tremendous population growth in recent years, with its number of citizens expected to double from its current total to nearly 400 million people by 2050. This has led to increased rice consumption and imports, with all-time highs of 8.5 million tonnes and 3.2 million tonnes, respectively, forecast for the 2025-26 marketing year.
BUA Foods in its 2024 annual report acknowledged this trend.
“Rice continues to account for nearly 10% of the average Nigerian household’s food expenditure, underscoring its importance in national food security,” the company said in the report. “Looking ahead, market analysts project the Nigerian rice sector to grow at a compound annual rate of 11.32% between 2025 and 2030.”
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