metro
Starvation looms as baking industry moves to shut down over high cost of production
Baking industry producing bread, a major staple food in Nigeria is currently shutting down operation in some parts of starvation looms as baking industry moves to shut down over high cost of productionhe country following the high cost of essential ingredients including flour, sugar and other items.
DAILY POST observed that some bakeries in the Federal Capital Territory had already shut down since May 2021 and resorted to other businesses following constant surge in bags of flour and sugar.
Price of bread in some parts of the country had previously witnessed increments despite decrease in quality and quantity by bakers who complained of running at losses due to the surge in materials.
Our correspondent gathered that a loaf hitherto sold at N400 is currently been marketed between N600 and N700, worsening the hardship imposed on Nigerians following the economic and security crisis bedeviling the entire nation at the moment.
DAILY POST’s finding also reveals that a bag of flour which was sold between N11,000 to N12,000 in January this year, has skyrocketed to N23,000 and above triggering the decision of the bakers to suspend operations pending when normalcy returns.
Similarly, a bag of sugar which was sold at the rate of N13,000 in late 2020 is currently sold for N25,000 and above in many parts of the country.
Speaking with DAILY POST, Chief Executive Officer of a popular bakery in Delta State, Mandela Makinde said he has shut down his company till further notice, stressing that he had been running at a loss for the past seven months.
According to him, the price of flour increases on a weekly basis, stressing that he lost over N300,000 in September while trying to keep the business afloat.
He hinted on alleged moves by some bakery owners in the state to resort to substandard way of producing breads by using harmful ingredients in a bid to continue the business.
According to him, “We have basically ran at a loss for the past 7 months, been keeping it open with personal funds just so my workers would have a job while I thought there would be change, but at this moment we have no other choice than to shut down.
“I am currently at the bakery and nothing is going on. We have suspended all activities here pending when the price of flour reduces.
“The price of flour and other ingredients have consistently continued to rise since the beginning of this year. As a CEO, I don’t have a single flour now because the last time I went to the market, the price they gave me was too high and I couldn’t afford it.
Asked if there is a plan to further increase the price of bread, he said “it is an individual business, so you cannot actually fix the price of bread because it is a competitive market. If your price is higher than every other person’s own, customers will go for the cheaper ones.
Speaking on reasons for the constant increments, the CEO said “since wheat importers started to source their Fx from the black market, the price of flour has continued to rise”.
He called on the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to investigate some bakeries, alleging that some of them use ‘Bromate and Sacarine’, products considered to be harmful to health.
“Many have played with volume in order to keep the price steady, some are beginning to add dangerous items such as ‘Bromate and Sacarine’ to keep their prices low”.
Similarly, Mr Adebayo Ayomide, a bakery owner in Bwari Area Council, FTC Abuja told DAILY POST that he has converted the bakery to a mini poultry due to the constant surge in price of flour.
He said, “Before I shut down the bakery recently, I was already indebted. What I usually do was to go to the market and get the flour from the seller then pay him after selling the bread but unfortunately, I was no longer making even the capital not to talk of profit. I had to stop and look for alternative.
“The country is so hard right now that relatively, nothing is working. Even this poultry, the chicken feed is very expensive and that is why you see that the price of egg is always increasing”.
Speaking with DAILY POST in Abuja, a bread consumer, Miss Jennifer lamented the level of hardship currently bedeviling the masses saying no food is presently affordable to the poor.
“Gone are the days when some food items like garri, bread were seen as poor man’s food. Now, both the rich and the poor are struggling for the items.
“The money is not there, common bread that you can just eat with soft drinks to quench hunger is no longer there, garri is not affordable, rice is never a poor man’s food so what do we do?
“The moment you begin to think that things will get better, you will just hear something worse. How did we get here? And the major problem in this country is that nothing goes up and comes down.
DAILY POST reports that the development may worsen the economy as many employees of the bakeries shutting down across the country would be pushed to the streets as jobless people.
Daily Post
metro
200,000 repentant terrorists surrender, drop arms in North East – CDS
200,000 repentant terrorists surrender, drop arms in North East – CDS
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has disclosed that about 200,000 repentant terrorists have so far dropped their arms and surrendered to troops in the North East, noting that the twin strategy of kinetic and non-kinetic operations was responsible for this achievement.
The CDS made this known at the Security and Justice Symposium organised by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) in collaboration with the British High Commission, which began at the National Counterterrorism Centre in Abuja on Tuesday.
He disclosed that the theme of the symposium, ”Securing Peace, Ensuring Justice, Protection, Conduct, and Accountability,” speaks volumes about the deluge of security challenges the armed forces and security agencies are facing.
His words, “All the challenges we are facing today have to do with fairness, equity, justice, and accountability.
“There will not be peace without justice, equity, fairness, and accountability. In our operations, we are conducting both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies, which have to a large extent yielded significant successes, and we want to particularly thank the National Security Adviser for his great support in this regard.
“Nigeria is going through so many challenges, and we feel we’re able to address this, and everybody has a sense of belonging. A lot of the security challenges we are having, we are sure, will go down. I want to thank the National Security Advisor for all the support he’s given us, both the kinetic and the non-kinetic.
“We have said it; the kinetic aspect is just less than 30%. The non-kinetic has a lot to play. The non-kinetic, because when you have democracy, people must have the evidence of democracy. As long as it tells people to sleep well and be peaceful, and they are hungry, their children cannot eat, and all this creates more problems.
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“The issue of informants. We have to look at how we tackle this issue of informants. Because these are the people who have created the issue.
200,000 repentant terrorists surrender, drop arms in North East – CDS
metro
Robbers kill two members in shoot-out with Delta police
Robbers kill two members in shoot-out with Delta police
The spokesperson for the police in Delta State, SP Bright Edafe, has confirmed the death of two robbery suspects in the state.
Mr Edafe, who disclosed this to journalists on Tuesday in Warri, said that the deceased were killed from the bullets shot by their gang members.
According to him, the incident occurred on Wednesday at Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of the state.
Mr Edafe explained that the deceased were leading the police surveillance team attached to the Ekpan Division to their hideout when they were caught during a shoot-out.
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“The suspects were arrested at Effurun roundabout with a bag containing 57 live cartridges and other items. They were leading the surveillance team to their hideout at Warri/Sapele road when their gang members, on sighting the vehicle of the police team, engaged them in a shootout.During the gun duel, the arrested suspects that were leading the police team were fatally wounded by the gun shot of their colleagues. The two injured suspects were taken to the hospital and later died while receiving treatment,” he said.
Mr Edafe said that items recovered from the hoodlums hideout included: one English pump action gun, one locally made cut-to-size gun and eight live cartridges.
Others were: six iPhones, Smart phones and a Rolex wrist watch.
He said that the command had intensified manhunt on the fleeing members of the gang.
Robbers kill two members in shoot-out with Delta police
(NAN)
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