Hope James
Bakers, under the umbrella of the Premium Bread Makers Association of Nigeria, have warned of yet another hike in prices of bread due to the skyrocketing cost of baking materials.
President of the association, Emmanuel Onuorah, made this known to newsmen, stating that the recent developments in the global marketplace had not translated into a better operating environment for local bakers.
This is following a recent strike action by PBAN, as well as the Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria, which culminated in a 15 per cent hike in bread prices barely two weeks ago.
According to Onuorah, many PBAN members have been forced to shut down business operations this year due to the skyrocketing cost of doing business.
He said, “The price of bread is going up again. The millers just increased prices by N2000. Sugar refiners increased by N2000. We had a N10,000 increase between last week and this week. We are increasing prices again. Preservatives increased by N2000, and butter increased by N2000. So, we have to respond. For us as an industry, our own is garbage in, garbage out. If the price of wheat comes down today, and the price of fuel comes down, certainly we will look at the price of our products and act accordingly.”
Onuorah also urged the Federal Government to open up a forex window for industry players, particularly the flour millers. As this, according to him, would significantly address the indiscriminate increase in the prices of flour in the market.
“When we went on withdrawal of services, flour was N28,500. Today it is N30,500,” Onuorah said.
In a chat with newsmen, the Deputy President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr Gabriel Idahosa, projected some confidence that the price of flour would significantly reduce, given the recent global developments. He, however, warned that other elements in the production chain could ultimately skew the gains that could arise from this fall in flour prices.
He said, “Grain prices worldwide have started coming down since the first shipment arrived. Wheat prices have come down quite rapidly since the agreement was signed. But that is just the grain. All other products will not come down because the situation in the market has not changed, but grain and grain-derived products like bread should fall. Bakers should expect cheaper flour.”
A baker, Olushola, who also spoke with our correspondent, lamented the rapid increase in the price of flour. According to her, bakers now had to review prices on a weekly basis in order to recoup costs and maintain profit margins.