The owners, managing directors, and partners of high-end bakeries in Nigeria, collectively known as the Premium Breadmakers Association of Nigeria (PBAN), will go on a four-day warning strike starting on Thursday, July 21, 2022.
The decision to strike was made by the bakers as a result of the nation’s rising baking-material costs.
The business people who claimed that operating bakeries in Nigeria has become impossible requested, that the federal government stop adding a 15 per cent Wheat Development Levy to imported wheat.
Emmanuel Onuorah, the association’s president, and Babalola Thomas, the organization’s public and industrial relations officer, both requested that NAFDAC reconsider the N154,000 penalty imposed on bakeries for renewing certifications late and reduce it.
PBAN requested that the federal government offer members access to grants and soft loans being given by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to Minor, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs), in addition to calling for the end of multi agencies’ regulation of the breadmaking industry.
In a statement, PBAN said, “Operating a bakery in Nigeria has become near impossible as the incessant increase in the prices of baking materials and diesel rendered the industry comatose. Bakeries are mostly running on huge losses and this is no longer sustainable.
“Bread is a staple food and one of the cheapest ‘grab and go’ food that is available for both the poor and rich. It, therefore, behoves the federal government to be mindful of this and ensure the survival and sustainability of the industry.
“In a move to ensure the survival of the Premium breadmaking industry in Nigeria, we have decided to embark on a withdrawal of services beginning from Thursday 21st July 2022 for four days in the first instance and where no intervention from the government, we shall escalate the duration of the withdrawal.
“Our efforts to ensure the survival of the industry led to a series of meetings with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Abuja (FMITI) with our sister association in the breadmaking industry in 2021. Our best attempts to ensure that the suggestions we put forward for the survival of the breadmaking industry have not yielded the desired result.
“Therefore, the withdrawal of service is the only way we believe we can use to get to Federal Government and Nigerians and let them know our plight and how difficult it has been with the breadmaking industry in Nigeria.”