Bakers Halt Bread Production Over Skyrocketing Costs

The Premium Breadmakers Association of Nigeria on Thursday announced its plans to stop production of bread due to the increase in the prices of baking materials.

The President of the association, Emmanuel Onuorah, in a statement, lamented that the prices of baking materials and diesel have affected production.

Onuorah further stated that bakeries are running in losses and the situation is no longer sustainable.

He noted that bread is a staple food and one of the cheapest food to get for both the poor and the rich.

The statement reads, “In a move to ensure the survival of the premium bread-making industry in Nigeria, we have decided to embark on a withdrawal of services beginning from Thursday 21st of July, 2022 for four days in the first instance and where there is no intervention from the government, we shall escalate the duration of the withdrawal.

“The reasons for the withdrawal of services included an incessant increase in the price of baking materials, Federal Government’s 15 per cent wheat development levy on wheat import, NAFDAC’s N154,000 penalty charged for late renewal of certificates, the inability of its members to access grants and soft loans being given by the Central Bank of Nigeria to Micro, Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises and multi-agencies regulation of the bread-making industry.

“Our efforts to ensure the survival of the industry led to a series of meetings with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Abuja with our sister association in the bread-making industry in 2021. Our best attempts through the suggestions we put forward for the survival of the bread-making industry have not yielded the desired result.

“Therefore, the withdrawal of service is the only way we believe we can use to get to Federal Government and Nigerians and let them know our plight and how difficult it has been with the bread-making industry in Nigeria.”