Bakers baking higher price for bread

Reacting to this move, one of the bakery owners, Nduka Obi, who heads the operation of his father’s bakery located in Kubwa, a suburb of the FCT, said although their bakery will increase the price of bread immediately, he does not rule out the possibility of an increase all over the nation. He also remarked […]

Reacting to this move, one of the bakery owners, Nduka Obi, who heads the operation of his father’s bakery located in Kubwa, a suburb of the FCT, said although their bakery will increase the price of bread immediately, he does not rule out the possibility of an increase all over the nation.

He also remarked that the proposed increase is genuine, as bakery owners would end up having nothing if a price increase is not effected. According to him, the surging price in sugar, energy challenges as well as other ingredients for baking, are the major causes.

Bread is a popular staple for many in rural and urban areas of Nigeria, and the country imports the wheat used by flour mills. The only difference among consumers of bread, whether they are living in Maitama, Kubwa, Mararaba, Ajegunle or wherever, is in the type of bread. It could be made of wheat, oat, cake, buttered or the popular Agege bread. “This leaves us with no option than to contemplate an increase in bread price to the tune of 40 to 50 percent, at least to stay in business and continue to serve our customers well.

“The quality and quantity would not be affected when the new price regime swings in. Things are difficult for bakers in the country,” said Innocent Mazi of INMAZ Confectionaries in Abuja.

According to him, a bag of sugar that used to be 3,000 naira is now almost 8,000 naira. Power and infrastructure have also put bakers’ activities in jeopardy lately. Experts say the price of bread has historically been an emotive issue, even though in Nigeria, it is not usually captured in economic indices. This is down to the fact that it is such a staple of the Nigerian diet.

“You can expect to find bread in almost every home in the country, which makes it a key product,” says Mr Aremu, a financial editor in a weekly magazine. “People relate to it and everyone has a notion of what a loaf of bread costs, which is why the price is so keenly watched,” he said.

Unfortunately and mistakenly, price of bread is not viewed as a significant key economic indicator unlike, for example, house rents, transportation fare or fuel price.

But any price increase makes the headlines because it is often viewed by the public (consumers) as indicative of what is happening to prices in general. “People have traditionally used bread to gauge the cost of living.”

Reacting to the proposed price hike, a former bread factory manager who is also a consumer of the product said, “Finger has also been pointed at epileptic energy supply. Having worked in a large baking factory during my student days, I can tell you that they waste a massive amount of energy from the little they receive. The main oven is open at each end, making the building in which it is housed almost unbearably hot.

“If bread manufactures address this obvious and blatant energy waste, they will surely save their fuel bills and conserve energy for the electricity outfit to work better. A saving that could be passed onto the customer and a positive move in today’s economic crunch that is obviously felt by both government and individuals,” he said.

According to a consumer, Mr Tanko Usaini, “Bread is common, so common that on 1st January (New Year day) while travelling, my car gave me problems in a village that is kilometres after Pambeguwa on the Kaduna-Jos road. All I could get was locally-baked bread, as it was obviously not made of flour. I guess maybe wheat, because wheat bread would easily be accessible in the village.

“The point I am making here is that for N40, it was a sweet experience and I topped it with a bottle of Pepsi Cola drink. The mallam selling told me that the bread used to be sold for N20 and that the price just got increased. He said the villagers had no option and no one questioned the reason for the increase. So I want to believe that the price hike could possibly have kick-started in some places, especially in villages,” he said.

These days, the purchase of several loaves of bread as a sign of farewell at motor parks or stop-by parks is gradually becoming a task, as people manage to travel while feeling the high cost of transportation, so the money for bread is just a frivolity and not worth the pain.

Many of the people who spoke with this reporter believe that very soon, many Nigerians will get back home from trips and recount stories of the trip to their kids instead of giving them Queens bread from Onitsha,  Jovad bread from Kaduna, the famous Agege bread in Lagos, etc.