Benin: The State Now Leads Local Consumption – La Nouvelle Tribune

Since early September, Benin's public administrations are required to prioritize local products from a list of eight categories, with prior approval needed for imports. The circular from the Minister of Economy and Finance, Aristide Médénou, mandates public entities to purchase locally produced items such as rice, gari, uniforms, juices, soaps, school furniture, or bricks, to support local producers. With public spending accounting for nearly 23% of the national budget, this measure aims to boost the local economy, especially in the rice sector, which still relies heavily on Asian imports despite a harvest of 492,626 tonnes of paddy in 2023.