The price of bread may rise significantly in the next few days as bakers, under the umbrella of Premium Breadmakers Association of Nigeria (PBAN), comprising owners, Managing Directors and Partners of premium bakeries in Nigeria, have concluded plans to embark on a 4-day warning strike beginning from today, Thursday.
Addressing newsmen in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, the association’s Chairman, Gabriel Adeniyi, stated that the decision to withdraw its services was taken following the myriads of challenges confronting the bakery and catering industry in the country, adding that all efforts made by the association towards remedying them were bluffed by the Government and its agencies.
The price of bread, a major staple among Nigerians, apart from rice and beans, has gone up in the last few months due to the on-going war in Ukraine, which started in February following the invasion of the country by Russia. In addition, the bakers requested the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to review downwards the N154, 000 penalty charged to bakeries on late renewal of certificates.
PBAN also called on the Government to grant members access to grants and soft loans being given by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSMEs).
The association also called for the stoppage of multi-agencies regulation of the breadmaking industry.
It said, “Operating a bakery in Nigeria has become near impossible as the incessant increase in the prices of baking materials and diesel rendered the industry comatose. Bakeries are mostly running on huge losses and this is no longer sustainable. Bread is a staple food and one of the cheapest ‘grab and go’ foods that is available for both the poor and rich. It, therefore, behoves on the federal government to be mindful of this and ensure the survival and sustainability of the industry.
“In a move to ensure the survival of the premium bread making industry in Nigeria, we have decided to embark on a withdrawal of services beginning from Thursday 21st July, 2022, for four days in the first instance, and where there is no intervention from the Government, we shall escalate the duration of the withdrawal.
“Our efforts to ensure the survival of the industry led to a series of meetings with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Abuja (FMITI) with our sister association in the breadmaking industry in 2021. Our best attempts to ensure that the suggestions we put forward for the survival of the breadmaking industry has not yielded the desired result. Therefore, the withdrawal of service is the only way we believe we can use to get to the Federal Government and Nigerians and let them know our plight and how difficult it has been with the breadmaking industry in Nigeria”, it further stated.
