Bread scarcity imminent as bakers begin four-day strike tomorrow

Nigeria’s major food, bread, may not be available from tomorrow as breadmakers are set to embark on a four-day nationwide strike beginning from Thursday.

For about two times in three months, the breadmakers have jacked up prices of bread due to rising production cost.

The planned strike action, according to the Premium Breadmakers Association of Nigeria, is in protest against increasing prices of baking materials, making it difficult to operate bakeries in Nigeria.

The group, in a statement signed by President of the association, Emmanuel Onuorah, and Public & Industrial Relations Officer, Babalola Thomas, also asked the Federal Government to stop charging 15 per cent wheat development levy on wheat import.

In addition, they requested NAFDAC to review downwards the N154,000 penalty charged bakeries on late renewal of certificates.

PBAN also called on the government to grant members access to grants and soft loans being given by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs).

The association called for the stoppage of multi-agencies regulation of the breadmaking industry.

It said, “Operating a bakery in Nigeria has become near impossible as the incessant increase in the prices of baking materials and diesel rendered the industry comatose. Bakeries are mostly running on huge losses and this is no longer sustainable.

“Bread is a staple food and one of the cheapest ‘grab and go’ food that is available for both the poor and rich. It therefore behooves on the federal government to be mindful of this and ensure the survival and sustainability of the industry.

“In a move to ensure the survival of the Premium breadmaking industry in Nigeria, we have decided to embark on a withdrawal of services beginning from Thursday 21st July, 2022 for four days in the first instance and where no intervention from the government, we shall escalate the duration of the withdrawal.

“Our efforts to ensure the survival of the industry led to series of meetings with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Abuja (FMITI) with our sister association in the breadmaking industry in 2021. Our best attempts to ensure that suggestions we put forward for survival of the breadmaking industry has not yielded the desired result.

“Therefore, the withdrawal of service is the only way we believe we can use to get to Federal Government and Nigerians and let them know our plight and how difficult it has been with the breadmaking industry in Nigeria.”