Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria says Nigerians should prepare for a 50 percent increase in the prices of bread.
AMBCN said it was no longer profitable for them to continue to bake and sell bread at the current price, stressing that a hike in prices had become inevitable.
AMBCN Chairman in Lagos State, Raji Omotunde, disclosed this in an interview in Lagos.
“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”
According to him, prices of baking ingredients have increased due to the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in the losses now being incurred by manufacturers.
Omotunde said, “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.
“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.”
But AMBCN Public Relations Officer in Abuja, Nura Musa, said that government should urgently intervene in the matter.
He said price increases would affect sale of bread which might result in job losses in bakeries across the country.
Musa said government support is needed to reduce production costs, which according to him, is killing the bakery business.
He said, “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.
“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.
Similarly, 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.