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National President of the Association of Table Water Producers (ATWAP), Mrs. Clementina Ative, has given reasons for a recent increase in price of packaged sachet water.
The chairman has also taken a swipe at the Chairman of Keffi Local Government Council in Nasarawa State, Hon. Mohammed Baba Shehu, over his statement and threat to sanction packaged water producers in his council over increase in price of sachet water from ₦100 per bag to ₦200.
Ative, in a statement, said the chairman does not have the power to determine the price of sachet water and any other commodity as price control is not within his purview and statutory mandate.
According to her, Shehu’s statement is ill informed and misguided as the recent rise in the price of sachet water was predicated on astronomical rise in production cost arising from market forces.
Ative, therefore, urged the local council chairman to use his good office to introduce palliative measures to help package water producers in his council to reduce price of sachet water rather than issuing threats and making provocative statements.
She said ATWAP was ready to work harmoniously with all tiers of government to ameliorate the suffering of the people and ensure good governance.
She said the association increased the price of one bag to N200.00 to enable members produce and give quality water to Nigerians instead of looking for ways of cutting corners, which might result, to quackery and substandard water.
Justifying the sachet water price increase, the ATWAP National President said: “Between 1998 to 2012 prices of all components of our production rose to point that nylon went to N600,000 per tonne, packing bags rose to N3.500 per bundle, fuel rose to N97.00 per litre and so do all components of our production from treatment medians to cleaning materials. We had no choice than to increase our price to N100.00 per bag to the retailers. And a sachet was being sold for N10.00 to the general public.
“From 2012 to 2021, the prices of all components of our production have gone to an unbearable point that we could no longer bear it. Nylon has gone to N1, 550,000 per tonne; packing bag has gone to N7.000 per bundle. Diesel is now N320 per litre and all of us depend mostly on generator.
“Pure water machines that we used to buy N220, 000 are now N1, 000,000. We cannot change our distribution vehicles anymore; cost of micro filters has risen to more than 700 per cent. ”
