Follow Us on Google
By Chinyere Anyanwu
Millions of Nigerians anticipating a dip in the price of bread may wait much longer as bakers have flatly denied any slash in the cost of flour, a major ingredient used in bread making.
There were recent viral reports suggesting a significant drop in flour, compelling many to conclude that a crash in bread prices was imminent.
Bread prices began a gradual rise since last year, owing to skyrocketing production costs and are not about to come down as the factors of production are not still favourable.
Today, a family-sized loaf of bread which sold for N1,200 before the period under review is now selling for N2,000 and above while the medium size which sold for N700 is currently selling for N1,200. A small loaf of bread which could be bought for N100 as of early 2024 now costs N300 or more.
Consumers have lately intensified pressure on bakers to lower bread prices, insisting that the cost of flour, the single most critical input in bread production, has dropped significantly.
They argue that maintaining current bread prices despite this shift reflects a troubling lack of sensitivity, especially at a time when Nigerians are grappling with a punishing economic climate. Many are urging bakers to reconsider their stance and offer some relief to households already stretched thin.
Some consumers have even muted the idea of boycotting bread nationwide to compel bakers to toe the path of price reduction. However, bakers have denied the claimed reduction in the price of flour, saying they are mere speculations.
A Lagos-based baker, Mrs. Mope Adepoju, in a chat with Daily Sun, said it is a gross misrepresentation for some consumers to claim that the price of flour has crashed and should, therefore, result in a reduction in the price of bread.
Mrs. Adepoju said, “the price of flour has not come down in the real sense of it. We’re still buying a bag of flour for N63,000. Even if the price of flour has come down, have the prices of other ingredients used in bread making come down? Flour is not the only ingredient we use in making bread.
“A bag of sugar is still selling for N75,000, a carton of yeast is N58,000, a carton of preservatives is N70,000 and we are still buying a carton of butter for N40,000. The cost of vegetable oil which is also part of the ingredients we use is still increasing. What about energy cost? Who doesn’t know how high the electricity bill is now?
“So to accuse bakers of insensitivity in the current situation we find ourselves in is not fair.”
Another baker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, corroborated Mrs. Adepoju, saying that bakers are not so inhumane as to keep the price of bread on the rooftop if the prices of other variables used for baking are reduced.
According to him, “We don’t enjoy seeing Nigerians groaning under the heavy burden of the high cost of living, especially buying bread, which is almost every family’s delight, at a high cost. But we are constrained by the high cost of baking materials, in addition to infrastructural challenges like power.
“Some bakers are even considering closing shops because of high operating costs, which leave them with very low profit margins.”
He said, “When you consider that you have to buy baking ingredients, pay workers, generate your own electricity and pay several other bills, you are left with no choice but to either sell your product (bread) at a reasonably sustainable price or face the risk of shutting down completely. And I don’t think anyone wants to take the last option.”
Efforts to reach the president of the Bakers Association proved abortive.
