JUST IN : BREAD TO COST MORE

This notice has been recently delivered by Engr. Emmanuel Onuorah, president of the Premium Breadmakers Association of Nigeria (PBAN).

He stated that since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu stopped making payments on the fuel subsidy, bread producers in Nigeria have been complaining that the cost of production has skyrocketed.

Bread production, according to Onuorah, has been negatively impacted by the federal government’s liberalisation of the foreign exchange (forex) market.

He claims that the majority of baking ingredients are imported, and that the rising cost of clearing these items is due to the fluctuation in the value of the currency.

Onuorah noted that the majority of the country’s baking needs, including wheat flour, Ascorbic Acid, Calcium Propionate, Yeast, Bread Softener, etc., had to be imported.

“The forex floating caused a rise in the clearing amount, and we all know that means bread prices will go up.

Bread prices would rise dramatically if flour millers were to use currency fluctuations as an excuse to raise prices, and that’s exactly what they feared would happen.

“With any increase in the price of bread now, there will certainly be more drops in sales, and more bakeries will certainly close shop,” the PBAN president warned.

However, Onuorah warned Nigerians that they should be prepared for an increase in the price of bread, a staple that can be found on almost everyone’s table.

In addition, the president of the bread manufacturers’ association said, “the imposition of 7.5% Value Added Tax (VAT) on diesel by the new administration of Tinubu has made the price increase immediately and this affected production and sales negatively.”