A 15 per cent increase in the price of bread is to be effected in 11 days – 24th July.
In a statement by its National President, Alhaji Mansur Umar; and National Secretary, Hon. Jude Okafor, the Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria (AMBCN) said that was the outcome of its National Executive Council’s extraordinary virtual meeting.
The association hinged its decision on the “multifarious increases in the prices of baking materials, which include flour, sugar, yeast, vegetable oil, twist tie, petrol, diesel (occasioned by subsidy removal); and multiple taxations from Federal and states agencies”.
The authorities, which charged the association and its members fees and levies, included in the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, and local government councils.
The statement further read: “We critically accessed the state of our business operations and consequently resolved that the recent general increases on our factors of production including but not limited to additional N1.2 million on one truck of flour (N2,000 per bag), N3.6 million on one truck of sugar (N6,000 per bag), yeast additional N2,000 per carton), fuel from N205 to N550 per litre, diesel N650 to N700 (depending on the part of the country) per litre, multiple taxations from Federal Government regulatory agencies, state government tax agencies, state government emblem collectors, state and local government health agencies and other taxing agencies too numerous to mention here, continuous collection of now heavily increased wheat levy (which is now diverted to other uses other than the objective for establishing it; charge of all manner of levies on flour millers that is finally transferred to bakers, it has now thrown a great number of our members into the unemployment market and is still counting.
“Effective 24th July 2023 as an interim measure, all members of AMBCN are hereby advised to adjust their prices by 15 per cent (in consonance with the now heavily increased cost of factors of our production) across the board as we can only produce standard baked products in accordance with NAFDAC (the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control) regulation as we cannot sacrifice the health of our fellow country men and women on the altar of breaking even point by resorting to unhealthy practices pending further resolutions”.
The association called on Federal and state governments to intervene urgently and save the industry from total collapse.
It directed that all its zonal chairmen, state chairmen and local chapters chairmen “should commence full-scale mobilisation towards implementation of the interim resolutions and await further directives from the National Secretariat.
“We sincerely appreciate the understanding and cooperation of our numerous customers nationwide as they grapple with the extra burden placed on them with the imminent increase and promise to revert back should there be significant Governments interventions”.
