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 imposed on Niger by West African bloc ECOWAS in the wake of the July 2023 coup were lifted in February, they have nonetheless disrupted regular supplies to Nigerien markets where inflation remains high for products including rice.

The closure of the border between Niger and Benin has also contributed to the disruption.

The agriculture minister has vowed to buy part of farmers’ harvests to fill up the country’s emergency reserves.

The ministry said it hoped for “good agricultural harvests” despite major flooding across the West African nation.

Torrential downpours in Niger since the start of the rainy season have triggered floods that have displaced one and a half million people and killed 339, according to figures by the civil protection agency.

This week, the authorities in Niamey announced that would slash the price of cement by 35 percent to help those affected by the floods to rebuild their homes.

Scientists have long warned that climate change driven by fossil fuel emissions is making extreme weather events such as floods more frequent, intense and longer-lasting.

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