World rice prices reached 198.3 FCFA (€0.30) a kilogram in September, up 38.9% from a year earlier and 33% above their second-quarter average, the regional central bank BCEAO said in its November 6 bulletin. Benin paid an implied 161 FCFA (€0.25) a kilogram for the 610,203 metric tons of Indian rice it imported in that quarter, by our calculation from statistics agency INStaD's trade data.
Analysis: Benin's second-quarter import price was slightly above the world average of 149 FCFA for those months, so September's level points to a costlier fourth quarter. The same tonnage at September's world price would cost about 121bn FCFA (€184mn), by our calculation. That is 22.7bn FCFA (€34.6mn) more than the 98.3bn FCFA (€150mn) paid, although contract prices and rice grades differ from the benchmark. Food prices in Benin rose only 0.1% over the year to September, INStaD said, suggesting importers had not yet passed on the increase. INStaD's third-quarter trade bulletin, due November 30, will give the first import prices after the rally.
Source: Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (BCEAO), BCEAO, Bulletin mensuel des statistiques, septembre 2026, September 2026 and April 2026 and May 2026 and June 2026; INStaD, INStaD, Bulletin trimestriel des statistiques du commerce extérieur, 2e trimestre 2026, Q2 2026; Institut National de la Statistique et de la Démographie (INStaD), INStaD, Indice Harmonisé des Prix à la Consommation, bulletin mensuel septembre 2026 (base 2023), September 2026