Bakers Resume Fresh Battle Against BUA, Others Over Flour Price Hike
To protest the constant rise in the price of flour and other baking materials, the Nigerian Association of Master Bakers and Caterers has vowed to shut down its operations nationwide.
Recall that the BUA Group – IRS Flour Mill (owned by billionaire Abdulsamad Rabiu), Super Four Mill, and Golden Confectionery – had previously called on the federal government to intervene in the incessant price hike of flour by BUA Group – IRS Flour Mill (owned by billionaire Abdulsamad Rabiu), Super Four Mill, and Golden Confectionery, claiming that the hike is killing their businesses and may result in the loss of many jobs if no action is taken.
The bakers, on the other hand, have given the federal government a two-week deadline, beginning September 23, to address the situation, which they claim is killing the business.
Alhaji Mansur Umar, the association’s National President, issued the warning yesterday during a press conference following their National Executive Council meeting in Abuja.
If the rising cost of bakery materials is not addressed immediately, he believes bakers may soon become extinct.
“We would direct our members to withdraw their services across the country for one week,” he stated if the federal government failed to fix the matter after the two-week deadline expired.
Umar bemoaned the fact that the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) jacked up its tariff system in the face of rising baking material prices and various taxes, exacerbating their predicament.
He claimed that the circumstances had forced them to raise their product pricing by 30% across the board.
Some of their members have gone out of business as a result of the circumstances, according to Umar, while others are in debt.
“At this time, most of our baking materials have risen to a level where appropriate bakery products pricing has become a very serious challenge.
“Our plea for the streamlining of our products regulations has not been heeded to, instead NAFDAC tariff regime has once again been jerked up.
“It becomes worrisome if the managers of our economy actually wish the bakery industry to remain or go extinct,” he said.
He however urged members of the association not to relent in their efforts to save the industry from going into extinction.
“We have no other industry than this, so we must fight with all we have to keep the industry alive. Remember, survival is the first instinct of life. We must not behave like dinosaurs that refused to adapt to changes in their environment and are now extinct.
“Arise great master bakers and expeditiously begin the correction of this obvious abnormally, which, if not checked, will drive us into the unemployment market,” he added.
