Bakers in Nigeria say there might soon be an increase in the price of bread across the country.
The President of the Bakers Association of Nigeria, Daud Suleiman, who disclosed this to The PUNCH hinged the decision for an increase in the price on the astronomical increase in the price of flour. He said the price of a bag of flour was N10,300 in January, adding that as of last week, flour was being sold for over N20,000.
“The millers always hinge the hike in price on the dollar-naira exchange rate. But most of them have silos and storage capacity that can sustain them for six months. But as soon as there is a little slide in the exchange rate, they increase their prices.
They should tell us; do they import every day? At least, if you have your storage, when you exhaust that one, you then buy another one and increase. But in a single month, they can inflate the price of flour three times.”
Suleiman said Nigerians were being short-changed by millers in Nigeria as the prices of flour in Gambia, Benin, and other countries were far below what it is being sold here in Nigeria. He added that the quality of flour in those countries was also superior to what was being supplied in the country.
“Most of them don’t even have mills; they import. But in Nigeria, we have mills and ours are still more expensive. The bakers are at the mercy of the millers. The relationship is supposed to be mutually beneficial, but it is typically parasitic,” he stated.
