By Mike Adeyemi
Due to the persistent hike in cost of production, no fewer than 40 percent bakeries in Kwara State have gone under, Pilot Business has learnt.
The Chairman of the Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria, Kwara State chapter, Alhaji Babatunde Gidado disclosed this during a chat with our reporter at the weekend.
Gidado who decried the increasing cost of production, said the challenge has forced many bakers in the state to abandon the trade.
The chairman explained, “Before now, a bag of flour was sold for N6, 000, it has increased to N11, 000. The fluctuation at the foreign exchange market has been the contributory factor to the incessant increment in bakery materials. It is for this reason that millers in the country have refused to reduce the cost of flour even when there was a drop at the exchange rate market.”
He said: Bakery sector is the second largest employers of labour in the country as each bakery must employ at least five workers excluding the drivers and the sales persons.
As solution to the problem, Gidado suggested that the Federal Government should reduce tax rate of N1, 000 charged per bag of flour.
Gidado also appealed to the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS) to reduce the tax imposed on bakers in the state.
The baker boss, however, warned members of the public to be wary of adulterated bread, which according to him is not labelled, urging them to report any bakery involved in the act to the nearest bakers’ office in the state.
