By Chinyere Anyanwu
The National Leader of Progressive Bakers Association of Nigeria (PBAN), Prince Jacob Adejonrin, has urged the Federal Government to call the country’s millers to order as he accused them of being responsible for the incessant increment in the price of bread.
Adejonrin made the call recently at a chat with Daily Sun on the challenges confronting the baking industry, that has catapulted bread level beyond the reach of most households that used the well loved staple ifor breakfast.
The bakers’ association national leader stated that millers are frustrating his members with their uncontrolled price increment of flour, the major ingredient in bread production.
According to him, “bread that used to be the commonest food in the country is no more affordable for the common man. A loaf of bread is now costing N800. That is adding to the hardship of the consumers.
“When we complain to the millers, mainly Flour Mills of Nigeria and Olam about the incessant increase in the price of flour, they tell us it’s the price of wheat. Does the price of wheat increase everyday? They are just frustrating us. The price of 50kg bag of wheat is now N30,000. In the last one month, they have increased the price of flour three times. We are expecting another price increase soon.” Adejonrin who accused Olam of being the major culprit in the price increase saga, said, “Olams is the problem of bakers now because they are always the first to increase price anyhow and other millers will follow.
Nigeria is not the only country importing wheat from Ukraine yet the price of flour is not increasing in those other countries like ours.”
He noted that if government wants to tackle this challenge, it should “call a meeting of the millers and call them to order; monitor them even to the point of where they buy the wheat. They increase the price of flour indiscriminately because they know government doesn’t have time to checkmate them. Bakers are suffering, consumers are suffering. Many bread bakers have been thrown into the labour market because their baking business has collapsed owing to increasing production cost.”