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Has the Price of Bread Risen in Your Neighbourhood? Government Policies to Encourage Cassava Bread causes Bread Price Hike
I remember a time in Lagos few years ago when bread became so scarce and expensive, it was difficult for the common man to afford it.
A recent hike in the price of bread has therefore gotten most people apprehensive as the price has again gone up in most parts of Lagos, Nigeria.
I bought my favourite Butterfield sliced bread early last week at the regular price of N200. When I wanted to purchase it last Friday, I was told it had risen to N220 and I grudgingly bought it. But as at yesterday, it was N250 at the same place I have been buying bread for several months now.
When discussing it with my colleagues at work, I realized that it wasn’t just peculiar to my area but that bread prices are rising in most parts of Lagos.
I did some research on the cause of the hike and came across a Vanguard Report which noted that the Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria has announced a 20 percent increase in bread prices, following the introduction of the additional 15 percent on imported wheat.
The National Association of Nigerian Traders, NANTS, Voices for Food Security, VFS, and Association of Small Scale Agro Producers in Nigeria, ASSAPIN however jointly denounced the recent increase in the price of bread, saying it was not in the interest of bakers and the economy.
In a joint statement by Adenekan Adeshile, Commercial Officer, NANTS on behalf of NANTS and Voices for Food Security, he made a case for Cassava Bread saying that Nigerian bakeries should adapt and make changes on their current production practices to fall in line with government’s requirements for blending of cassava flour in bread.
News reports say the government is trying to encourage the use of cassava in making bread and has therefore introduced an additional 15 percent on imported wheat.
What do you think about the increase on the price of imported wheat in a bid to encourage the use of cassava flour in making bread? Has the price of bread risen in your neighbourhood? How much do you buy bread now?
Photo Credit: Vanguard
