Forex Scarcity, Rising Inflation Trigger High Bread Cost

Lack of access to foreign exchange, hike in the price of baking items have continued to trigger the cost of bread in recent times.

Breadmakers, under the auspices of the Premium Breadmakers Association of Nigeria (PBAN) stated this in Lagos on Monday  in Lagos during a courtesy visit to stakeholders in the baking industry.

High levy on raw materials imported for bread production, it said, were also instrumental to bread price hike.

It also identified limited prospects for ease of doing business as another key impediment for the confectionary sector in the country.

The national president of PBAN, Engr. Emmanuel Onuorah,  stated called on the Federal Government to make favourable and implementable economic policies that would encourage and promote baking in the country.

According to him, the federal government through a deliberate policy should suspend levies placed on wheat and other baking products to encourage investors’ survival in the industry.

Speaking at Lesaffre Africa BA Nigeria Distribution Ltd, Ajah, Lagos, Engr. Onuorah also bemoaned lack of foreign exchange on raw materials by Nigerian banks to manufacturers.

The PBAN President enjoined the French company to establish their production factory in Nigeria rather than importing raw materials from overseas.

He emphasised that setting up the raw materials company would create job employment for many Nigerians and grow a better return on their investment.

To him, “The federal government policy on importation of raw materials is suffocating us and will kill our businesses. The baking industry will fold up if the government fails to remove the levy placed on wheat. The resultant effect of this is that Nigerians will die of hunger with the high levies placed on bread-making products.

“And if bread, which is the easiest food for common man in the country, becomes extremely unaffordable to buy, how do the people survive?.

“For the players in the industry to survive the quagmire, the government should remove the levy placed on the importation of flour, wheat, yeast, and other baking materials. If flour and wheat are cheaper, the cost of bread will also come down, or else, Nigerians may die of hunger.”

In their separate remarks, the chief operating officer, Lesaffre BA Nigeria Distribution, Johnny Halabi called on the Nigerian government to reduce high reliance on foreign exchange for importation of raw materials to the country.

Halabi emphasised on the need to revamp the refineries and make Naira stronger for ease of doing business.

In his own submission, the managing director, Macadams Baking Systems Nigeria, Deji Oyinlola applauded PBAN for engaging the relevant stakeholders in the baking industry to unburden the bottleneck affecting industry.

Oyinlola said the firm has gone into lots of research to make baking equipment fit into the Nigeria market and make business sustainable for the bakers.