Over 500 bread factories shut in Kwara — Bakers

About 500 bakeries have been closed in Kwara State following the recent hike in the prices of flour and other baking commodities, the chairman of the state chapter of the Master Bakers Association, Alhaji Abdulfatai Alaba, has said.

Alaba who spoke with Daily Trust in Ilorin on Thursday, expressed helplessness over the issue, declaring that the association might increase the price of bread after its meeting on Saturday in line with the present prices of ingredients and commodities.

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He called on the state and federal governments to establish milling companies just like they did for the NNPC with the mega stations to bring down prices.

Alaba, who spoke through the general secretary of the association, Comrade Babalola Oladimeji, noted that “When you are operating a business and running at a loss, there is nothing to do than to close it.”

“Initially, we had over 700 registered bread bakeries in Kwara State, but now, that figure has drastically reduced to about 200 due to all these increments. Over 500 have folded up, he said.

“The flour we bought for N5,000 some years back is now N22,000 and we are told it will get to N25,000 before the end of the year. Same thing with sugar, which is now N23,000 from N6,000. A pack of yeast that hitherto sold for N300 is now N1,200.

“Now most of the bakeries use firewood that was gotten at the rate of N6,000 for a full truck, but that has gone up to N32,000 per vehicle. This is the reason why most of the bakeries are folding up and there is an urgent need for efforts to halt the disturbing trend,” he added.