Master Bakers Association says the situation has forced bakers across the country to increases all sizes of bread by N50.
“The price of bread has gone up owing to the increase in all our inputs prices amid the lockdown,” said Jude Okafor, national secretary, Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria.
“Prices of butter, preservatives, sugar, and flour have all increased. A 50kg bag of sugar we normally buy for N13,500 before the lockdown is now sold for N18,500,” Okafor said.
He noted that bakers were forced to increase the prices of their bread despite the economic situation in the country.
He stated that bakers have been operating below their production capacity since 2018 when consumer purchasing power has been on the decline.
“We have since slowed down our production because Nigerians are not consuming bread-like before. Most of us are just operating to still remain in business,” he said.
He added the exchange rate volatility has also contributed to the increase in some of the key inputs bakers require for their production.
The national secretary called on the government to intervene by having meetings with major millers and sugar producers in the country to address their concerns as bread still remains a key staple Nigerians consume.
Nigeria imports about 80 percent of its sugar and wheat needs in the country.
The country is experiencing an FX volatility which was also triggered by the pandemic, making prices of imports more expensive amid a breakdown in the global supply chain.
“Yes the FX is also an issue for us apart from the pandemic but we have not increased the prices of our flour,” an executive in one of Nigeria’s largest flour millers who does not want his name mention on print told BusinessDay.
“Maybe the middlemen are the ones adding to the price,” he suggested.
But Saheed Balogun, a baker at Ketu said that a bag of flour which was sold N10,500 before the pandemic is now being sold for N12,000, indicating a 14.3percentage increase.
“Nigerians are suffering now because of the pandemic. They will not be able to survive if prices keep rising,” Balogun said.
Currently, a metric ton of United States Hard Red Wheat (HRW) sells for $233 at the time of writing, according to data from the International Grain Council.
Josephine Okojie
