The Ivorian government announces the destruction of 18,000 tons of “substandard” rice.
The 18,000 tons of rice from India and Burma that were stored at the port of Abidjan since March 18 will be destroyed. The information was given by the Ivorian Ministry of Trade and Promotion of SMEs.
The inspection of the cargo of 18,000 tons of Burmese rice unloaded at the Port of Abidjan from 11 to 18 March 2019 by the Ocean Princess, from Asia via the ports of Conakry and Lomé, revealed “anomalies on quality,” said the Ivorian Minister of Commerce, Industry and Promotion of SMEs, Souleymane Diarrassouba. The statement from the Ministry of Trade and Industry, states that following the samples taken, the results of analyzes of the samples of this rice carried out by an accredited laboratory and approved under the program of Verification of Conformity of goods to the Ivory Coast (VOC), are non-compliant with the Ivorian norm CODEX STAN 198-1995.
And according to the provisions of Article 17 of the Act of 15 June 2016 on the repression of fraud and falsification in the sale of goods or services, “the actual seizure and sealing of these 18 000 tonnes of Burmese rice and triggering the destruction process, “added Minister Diarrassouba.
Already at the announcement of the unloading of this cargo, in Abidjan the spokesman of the government Sidi Toure had explained that the government remains “vigilant”. Note that it was March 19 that the Ivorian Ministry of Commerce had reported that “the cargo is still in bond and announced” the results in a week “.
Mireille Patricia Abié
