'Gold dust': Liberians queue for rice

MONROVIA - In the Clara Town suburb of Liberia's capital Monrovia, Aminata Kanneh stands sweating under the hot midday sun, queueing in a 100-metre-long line to buy rice.

"Today makes it two weeks that I have been coming every day, but until now I have not got a grain of rice," the 34-year-old told AFP.

Liberians around the country have for weeks been queuing outside wholesalers to get their hands on the national staple food after rumours of a coming rice shortage began circling about six months ago.

Supply-chain disruptions and Russia's war in Ukraine have caused food shortages and high prices across much of the world. 

But Liberia, a West African nation of five million people, has been hit particularly hard, with the government and UN blaming a delay in shipments.

Rice prices have steadily risen to about $25 per 25-kilogram bag, from the official rate of $13, over the past six months.

Some 1.3 million people -- more than a fifth of the population -- live on less than $2.15 per day, according to the World Bank.

Djaounsede Madjiangar, a spokesman for the UN World Food Programme in West Africa, said the rice shortage was due to "delays in the incoming consignment".

"On the price of rice, it is definitely impacted by the crisis in Ukraine", he said, adding that about 70 percent of Liberia's staple food, including rice, is imported. 

"As for many other countries in West Africa, the increase in domestic food prices reflects international food price trends, largely driven by the global energy crisis resulting from the Russia and Ukraine crisis", he said.

This week the commerce ministry called on Liberians to "remain calm" and refrain from panic-buying, adding that more supplies were on the way.

It also urged retailers not to hoard the commodity.