The Premium Bread Makers Association, representing bakers, has disputed the claim made by flour millers that the price of flour has remained unchanged in the past year. This disagreement arises as the Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria announced a nationwide 15 percent increase in bread prices starting from July 24.
Emmanuel Onuorah, the President of the Premium Bread Makers Association, stated in an interview with The PUNCH that flour millers had implemented a price increase for flour following the devaluation of the Nigerian currency.
He emphasized that rising input costs in recent months have further compounded the challenges faced by bakers, who are already grappling with various macroeconomic difficulties.
Onuorah also highlighted that many of their members have been forced to exit the breadmaking business due to the numerous challenges prevailing in the operating environment.
Onuorah said, “They are gouging price. They just do whatever they want, they were telling us before now that they source their forex from the black market. Now that the government has taken away the official window we have discovered that they were getting forex from the banks.
“They’re going to implement the increase in the price of flour in tranches. They have added N2,000, with the possibility of adding another N3,000. I don’t know when, but that’s their plan. In the last three months, they have added N10,000 to the price of sugar. 150kg bag of sugar has gone up by N10,000.”
He claimed that the recent elimination of fuel subsidies and devaluation of the naira had significantly increased the overhead expenses of breadmakers, forcing them to produce at less than full capacity.
He added, “Many of our distributors are using fuel. If they were using N4,000, today if they buy N4,000 fuel it doesn’t go anywhere. So it is affecting distribution. Most of them are leaving this business.”
Onuorah said the leadership of the union had already instructed the members to adjust prices in light of the recent developments in order to keep up with production costs.
“We have started doing it individually without necessarily giving any percentage adjustment. If any bakery does not adjust price, they will close down.
“Mind you, PBAN members are not increasing price, but making marginal adjustments to be able to match escalating costs with revenue, which by the way is disproportionate in terms of revenue.”
Reacting, the Corporate Communications Manager at Flour Mills of Nigeria, Modupe Thani, denied the claim by PBAN that the price of flour had been increased
“The price of four has not gone up, and it hasn’t gone up in recent times. I’m not sure where that story is coming from. I also spoke with my people in-house and they said nothing like that has happened. The price of flour has not been increased for more than one year.”
The General Secretary of the Flour Mills Association of Nigeria, Saliu Olalekan, refused to comment on the matter on the ground that the association would not get involved in matters revolving around the price of the product.