Ayomide Bello
“They should tell us; do they import every day? In a single month, they can inflate the price of flour three times,” bakers accused flour sellers of profiteering
Bakers in Nigeria have advised Nigerian to brace up for 100 percent said Nigerians of the country to expect 100 per cent hike in the prices of loaves of bread.
Recently, the price of break that were sold at some of the stores around Lagos were increased by N100 as they moved from N500 to N600 per a loaf of bread.
Dauda Suleiman, President of the Bakers Association of Nigeria, who stated this blamed the pending hike on the increasing rates of flour, which is a key ingredient for bread.
Bread is a stable food eaten by millions of Nigerians on daily basis.
Suleiman who spoke at a stakeholders meeting in Lagos, expressed regret the price of flour had doubled in the last seven months without any basis for the adjustment.
According to him, the price of a bag of flour was N10,300 in January, stressing that as of last week, flour was being sold for over N20,000.
He said the millers always blame the hike in price on the dollar-naira exchange rate, stating however that most of them have silos and storage capacity that can sustain them for six months. But as soon as there is a little slide in the exchange rate, they increase their prices.
“They should tell us; do they import every day? At least, if you have your storage, when you exhaust that one, you then buy another one and increase. But in a single month, they can inflate the price of flour three times,” he added
He said millers are cheating Nigerians because the prices of bread in Gambia and other neighbouring countries were relatively cheaper than Nigeria, adding that the quality of flour in those countries were also superior to what was being supplied in the country.
He stated :“Most of them don’t even have mills; they import. But in Nigeria, we have mills and ours are still more expensive. The bakers are at the mercy of the millers. The relationship is supposed to be mutually beneficial, but it is typically parasitic”.
He lamented that bakers were using firewood instead of burners, to reduce costs even as he implored the Federal Government and Nigerians to prevail on millers to reduce the rates in the interest of the industry.
Also speaking,the National Leader of the group, Prince Jacob Adejorin, claimed many bakers were also being harassed by certain groups who did not want their views aired on the sorry state of the industry and the plight of workers therein.
He added:“Bakers are in debt and many have stopped working. Many of us are no longer in the business. Some have returned to their villages and others are riding tricycles just to survive. We are suffering in silence,” he added.
