The Association of Master Bakers
and Caterers of Nigeria (AMBCN) says a 50 percent increase in the prices of
bread is inevitable.
Raji Omotunde, Lagos state
chapter chairman of AMBCN, made this known in an interview with NAN on Friday.
He said the prices of baking
ingredients have increased due to the coronavirus pandemic, adding that
manufacturers are now running at a loss.
“Prices of all ingredients used for baking are too high, especially flour and sugar. Between March and September, there has been a monthly addition of N500 on a bag of flour and bakers have been bearing the additional cost,” he said.
“But as it is, baking bread and
selling at the current price is no longer profitable. We have been appealing to
the millers but they are groaning about the absence and increase in price of
foreign exchange. The only option we have now is to cry out so that government
can come to our rescue.”
Nura Musa, the public relations
officer of AMBCN Abuja chapter, called for government intervention.
He said an increase in prices
will affect sales which will consequently affect bakery jobs across the
country.
Musa said government support is
needed to reduce production costs, which according to him, is killing the
bakery business.
“The instability of foreign
exchange, high cost of diesel and other baking materials are reasons given by
flour millers for the hike in the prices of baking materials,” he said.
“We have appealed to flour
millers and other people involved in the selling of baking materials to reduce
their prices but they have not responded.
“And that is why we are pleading
with Federal Government to intervene in this matter by engaging the flour
millers and baking material sellers.
“The association is one of the
largest employers of labour in the country and if any bakery should fold up
many people will lose their jobs.”
A bag of flour which sold at
N10,500 before the outbreak of coronavirus, now sells at N13, 000.
Also, a bag of sugar now sells
between N19, 000 and N20,000 depending on bargaining power against the
pre-COVID-19 price of N14,000.
The alert on the possible
increase of the cost of bread is coming at a time when there is outrage over
hike in pump price of petrol and new electricity tariff.
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