Bread of sorrow

By Vivian Onyebukwa And Vera Wisdom-Bassey

Bakers, sellers and consumers of bread are seriously lamenting the spiralling cost of bread, one of the most affordable staple foods in Nigeria.

Unconfirmed sources warn that bakers may embark on another round of strike, the second in two months, if nothing is done to address their plight in the face of rising costs of production as well as scarcity of foreign exchange. They believe that government’s intervention by having the prices of baking ingredients, especially wheat flour and composite condiments, drastically reduced, will make bread affordable.

Idowu Taiwo, an Ogun State-based bread baker who spoke to Saturday Sun on the issue lamented that as a result of the development he has reduced his staff strength from over 50 to ten. He explained why: “Before now, they do shift duties, night and day, but now things are no longer so. We used to make N300, 000 in sales each day. But now it has been reduced to N100, 000. In fact, we only do supplies now for about 20 people. I hope we sustain it. Sellers used to book 100, 50, and 80 loaves. But now, it has reduced to 30, 20, and even 10. We find it difficult to pay commission. We only managed to do so two times so as not to lose our customers. As you can see, we are relaxing. It is unlike what used to obtain here before now.”

Bakers’ lamentation

Taiwo said he had been incurring huge loss owing to the continuous increase in the price of baking materials and diesel. He confessed that such a situation is no longer sustainable. “This is why we have adopted the policy that only customers or sellers who booked earlier would be supplied. We started experiencing some difficulties in procuring necessary ingredients from last year. The price of flour which is our major ingredient has increased tremendously.”

A baker at Ketu, Lagos expressed disappointment with the way the government was allowing a staple food like bread to go beyond the reach of the common man. He said: “I still manage to produce but only in small quantities, with the hope that things will come back to normal.”

President, Premium Bread makers Association of Nigeria (PBAN), Mr Emmanuel Onuorah, lamented the growing scarcity of foreign exchange needed to make some wheat flour purchases from Russia, Ukraine and Argentina. And on his own part, the National Secretary of the Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria (AMBCN), Jude Okafor, regretted that the high production cost of available items have forced some bakers to close shop.

Recently, the associations declared a nationwide strike over the rising cost of production items. They demanded government’s intervention with regard to prices of materials used in bread production, especially flour and sugar. The strike started on Wednesday, July 20, 2022. According to market survey, the price of flour, the major ingredient in baking, has gone up from N10, 700 per 50kg bag to N27, 500 and N29, 000, depending on the brand; sugar has increased from N15,500 per bag to N30,000. The price of baking butter has also gone up from N5, 800 to almost N14,000; a 25-litre can of vegetable oil, which was about N13,000, now sells for N25,000. Milk, too which used to sell for N30, 000, now goes for between N65, 000 and N70, 000. Preservatives (Calcium Propionate), jumped from N25, 000 to N34, 500. These, the bakers noted, were some of the things that made the prices of bread to go high

Saturday Sun equally discovered that bakers who can’t afford to buy in large quantities, also pay more for smaller quantities. For instance, a paint of flour which was sold at N700 now sells at N2, 100. A paint of sugar which formerly sold for N1, 200, now goes for N3, 000, and a sachet of butter, which was N150, is now between N400 and N450. A big pack of yeast at the moment goes for N1, 300 as against N650 previously. This explains why the prices of bread suddenly went up by about 20 per cent, by the time bakers resumed production on July 25. For instance, N200 worth moved up to between N240 and N250; N500 to N600; N600 to N750; N700 to N880; and N800 to between N980 and N1000. However, investigation shows that in some areas bread which used to sell for N350 now costs N700 while the previous N500 own now sells for N800, N1000 or N1, 100.

Sellers narrate their ordeal

Bridget Njoku, a bread seller based at Community Road, Ijegun, Lagos, admitted that the high cost of bread has affected her business badly. She explained how: “Before now, I used to sell bread worth N15, 000 to N20, 000 per day. But now patronage is very low. I hardly finish selling N10, 000 worth in a day. Similarly, this has reduced the margin of profit I make in a day. After selling N10, 000 worth of bread, I now make about N500. The volume of sales reduced because it is not everybody that can afford to buy bread. Those that manage to buy would ask for the small sizes. People are hungry and there is no money. Some people now beg to eat. I am still in the business because I have been in it for over 15 years. I had been taking care of my family through this business. Now it is difficult to do that. I even learnt today that bakers want to go on strike again. They want to increase the prices of bread the second time. With that, the jumbo size which used to sell for N500 and which now sells for N700 may go up to N1, 500.”

A young man, Lanre Ojo, who also sells bread at Ijegun bus stop, Lagos, lamented the incessant rise in its price. The man who said he had been in the business almost all his life, informed that he inherited it from his parents. He said they started by selling Agege bread when they were growing up and graduated into selling different kind of bread. He added: “They call here bread centre because you find all kinds of bread.  Before now, I used to sell bread worth N50, 000 every day, and with much gains. But now I manage to sell about N30, 000 a day.”

Onyinyechukwu Dunu from Anambra State who sells bread at Cele Bus Stop, Lagos, advised buyers who can afford it to go for high quality ones.

Said she: “Most of the bakers have reduced the quality of the ingredients they use in making bread as a result of the high cost of materials. The only thing this high cost of bread has done is to reduce the number of loaves customers buy. But it will be difficult for some families to do away with eating bread daily.”

Consumers weigh in

Other bread sellers spoken to at Ikeja, Ojuelegba, Surulere, Oshodi, Lagos, and Owode, Ogun State confirmed that the quality of the bread has been reduced while buyers also have reduced the quantities they buy. An elderly man, a retiree who spoke to the paper narrated how shocked he was by the development. He recalled: “I sent my wife to buy bread, which we used to buy for N250. But she returned with the money and said that the bread is now N500. I thought she was joking. I decided to go to the place by myself. I discovered that it was true. To be honest with you, all my life, I had never bought bread at that price. I am a retired civil servant. I don’t know what this country is turning to. The other day before my wife’s encounter, I asked my daughter to buy bread. But she returned with the money and said she could not find any that was being sold for that price. It was then I discovered that bakers were on strike. Now the strike has resulted in high cost of the food item. This is bad because bread is a staple food for most families.”

Jane Okoro, a teacher, said: “The high cost is affecting me because my children love bread. I now spend more money on bread than I had been doing.” Catherine Njemanze a trader said she has removed bread from her family menu pending when the price would come down. “I have devised an alternative, which is pap and bean cake.”

Yemisi Oladeinde expressed sadness that there was a particular day that daughter bought a stale bread. “I guess it has stayed longer than necessary as a result of the fall in its demand.”

Experts present alternative to wheat flour

However, food experts have argued that the prices of bread can be reduced by 20 per cent by mixing the wheat flour with the flours of Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potatoes (OFSP). The body said it trained about 120 beneficiaries last month, adding that it is also educating farmers and other stakeholders on organic farming, especially on how to avoid causing harm with agro chemicals.. Actually, the training was focused on how to use the flour to make doughnuts, breads, organic soap, egg rolls, etc.

Speaking during the training, the National President of Potato Farmers Association of Nigeria (POFAN), Chief Daniel Okafor informed that the 120 that signed on for the programme comprises confectioners and bakers.

Director and Head, Food Technology Department, Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO), Dr (Mrs) Oluwatoyin Oluwole, who confirmed  Okafor’s claim noted that adding sweet potato either in form of paste or flour to wheat flour makes bread cheaper to produce, and affordable. Sorghum and cassava flours are said to be another good substitutes. But whether there will be enough supplies of them for the teeming population of Nigerian bakers remains to be seen. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development estimated Nigeria’s national wheat requirement at 5 million metric tons. But the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)’s report shows that the country produced only 36,943 metric tons in 2021, representing less than one per cent of the country’s total annual demand. According to the Bureau, wheat was Nigeria’s second most imported goods in the first quarter of this year. It accounted for N258.3 billion of the value of total imports within the period.