Consumers of bread in Rivers State may have to pay more, as the prices of the staple food will increase from 7th February 2024.
Chairman of the Rivers State chapter of the Master Bakers Association of Nigeria, Dr Chidi Emmanuel, confirmed the price increase while speaking to newsmen after an emergency meeting of the association in Port Harcourt.
Dr Emmanuel said the high cost of materials, as well as the increase in the cost of cargo clearance by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), coupled with the rising cost of energy, had necessitated the increase in the prices of loaves of bread.
He said, “There is going to be price increment on all bread sizes from Thursday simply because most of the things we use in producing bread are imported.
“So if naira has moved from N1,000 a month ago to about N1,500 to the dollar today, price of things must go up. And that is the position of master bakers, Rivers State branch.
“And it is a nation-wide thing, some states have implemented even before today. There is a directive by the national association to all the states to review their cost of production and increase selling price accordingly.
“So, we are complying with a directives from the national headquaters and it is effective Thursday. It is a decision taken by the association”.
He also said while the prices of loaves of bread will increase, the association will however maintain standards in the production of bread in the state, urging bread consumers to bear with the association.
Emmanuel further said, “My advice to them (consumers) is to keep managing. Let’s believe that there will be improvement in the near future.
“If the price of the raw materials come down, we will call a meeting again and reduce the prices downward. If the raw materials continue to go up we will call a meeting again and review upwards. It is purely an issue of buying and selling.
“So they (bread producers) should try and maintain standard so that they don’t use banned substances to produce bread.
“It is better to produce small quantity and sell than a large quantity and unable to sell”.
He further advised producers of bread to minimize losses by taking the purchasing power into consideration.
He disclosed that the association will announce the prices of all loaves of bread in the state from Thursday.
