Data from the Ministry of Trade and Industry show that in 2020, Rwanda spent over $44 million (about Rwf43 billion) on importing more than 177,740 tonnes of wheat, representing an increase of over 10 per cent compared to more than $40.8 million (about Rwf39 billion) spent the previous year.

Importing billions worth of wheat hurts the country’s wheat industry growth, according to actors along the crop’s value chain.

The data indicate that in 2019, Russia was Rwanda’s top wheat import partner where more than 73,324 tonnes worth $17.5 million were imported, while in 2020, the United Kingdom came first with 67,145 tonnes of wheat for $16.1 million, followed by Russia with over 60,855 tonnes for $15.2 million.

The country’s wheat subsector is constrained with various issues including relatively low farm productivity, higher prices for the locally produced wheat compared to imported one, and failure of locally grown produce to meet quality standards required by major agro-processing factories.

All these issues adversely affect the competitiveness of the local wheat subsector as agro-processing factories resort to imports instead.  

Faradjallah Ndagano, Company Relations Affairs Manager at Bakhresa Grain Milling Rwanda Ltd /AZAM, one of the largest wheat processing firms in Rwanda told The New Times that they have been compelled to import wheat from different countries.

Bakhresa Grain Milling Rwanda has a production capacity of 500 tonnes of wheat flour per day, he said, adding that wheat imports are based on market demand.

He said that the firm has held talks with local farmers through the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry to attract large-scale local production but this has also been impeded by poor quality or high prices.

However, he said, they are still working with these ministries to get quality wheat, in the desired quantities and at a competitive price.

"We have heavily invested in additional storage capacity to ensure we can accommodate enough stock, even though we would wish to buy the wheat locally, there is no local wheat available on the market,” he observed.

Jean Baptiste Habumuremyi, Secretary of Rwanda Federation of Wheat Farmers’ Cooperatives told The New Times that imported wheat reaches Rwanda at about Rwf240 a kilogramme, while the locally produced wheat costs between Rwf340 and Rwf400.

Factors that make the locally produced wheat more costly include low yields and high production cost for the local farmers, they say.

"Wheat produce varies from 2.5 tonnes to 4.5 tonners per hectare, depending on different factors including the variety, while there are countries that get nine to 10 tonnes of wheat per hectare,” he said.

 "There is a need to use enough fertilisers, and quality seeds so as to get better yields,” he said.

Speaking to The New Times, François Nsengiyumva, Chairperson of Rwanda Chamber of Agriculture and Livestock at Private Sector Federation said that local wheat is outcompeted by imported one because the latter is highly subsidised and technologies used in the producing countries enable higher yields.

Also, he said, domestically produced wheat falls short of protein levels required by major factories or bakeries.

What can be done?

Nsengiyumva said that addressing the constraints hindering the local wheat subsector growth necessitates advanced strategic planning to fill the gaps in wheat production and its entire value chain.

"The Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning should support the development of a strategic plan and its implementation, then request MINAGRI to deliver on research; while the private sector should deliver on production and processing of wheat produce. That is something we can achieve like in three years. But, it seems that it is not given enough attention,” he said.

The New Times requested for information from the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) on what is being done to address the above-mentioned issues, but it had not yet received a reply by press time.

Meanwhile, RAB has been working on developing wheat varieties intended to improve yields, and cater for the needs of the agro-processing industry. But, the development seems to be in its nascent stages.