Members of the Premium Breadmakers Association of Nigeria, have warned of yet another hike in the prices of bread due to the skyrocketing cost of baking materials.
President of the association, Emmanuel Onuorah, disclosed this to journalists, stating that the recent developments in the global marketplace had not translated into a better operating environment for local bakers.
The planned hike follows a recent strike action by PBAN, as well as the Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria, which culminated in a 15 percent hike in bread prices barely two weeks ago.
According to Onuorah, many PBAN members had 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 an 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. This, he said, would significantly address the indiscriminate increase in the prices of flour in the market.
