By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
A loaf of bread now costs between N100 and N150 more, depending on size. An 800g loaf that sold for N350 a week ago in some parts of Lagos has risen to N450 and a bigger size from N400 to N550.
Bread is a staple food for many, consumed daily, and because salary is stagnant, the price rise is significant for an average family of four that would require three loaves of bread per meal.
All other food items, local and imported, have risen in price several times over the past year. Bread is different because it is ready to be eaten and is consumed by nearly everyone, particularly city dwellers who cherish protein for their hustle and bustle.
Bakers blame millers, seek government’s intervention
The price hike is blamed on the increase in the price of flour, and lamented by the Progressive Bakers Association of Nigeria (PBAN) which has asked the federal government to regulate the activities of millers.
PBAN National President Dauda Sulaiman said the price of flour has doubled from N10,300 to N21,000 which has turned a lot of bakers into debtors and incapacitated regular bread production.
He told The Nation that millers are “insincere” and always take advantage of naira exchange rate to hike the price of flour.
“They always hinge on the value of exchange rate but most of them have storage capacity that can sustain them for six months but as soon as there’s a slide in Naira against dollar, they hike the price,” Sulaiman said.
“Do they import everyday? At least when you have your storage, when that one is exhausted and you want to get another one, then you can increase [the price]. They have given room to the middlemen to dictate the price. You can’t imagine in a single month, they increased the price of flour three times. They are not helping matters.”
Sulaiman said the price of flour in neighbouring countries is lower and urged Abuja to regulate the price of flour and save Nigerian bakers from bankruptcy.
“We are the mercy of the millers; the relationship between us is supposed to be beneficial but it’s typically parasitic because bakers are in debt.
“No baker makes N2,000 as profit on a bag of flour and it is the major constituent of bread which takes about 85 per cent of production cost. If the business structure is tough, people will look for different means to survive.”