Residents of the
Bauchi metropolis are bemoaning an increase in the price of bread, with
many of them complaining that the situation has brought untold hardship
to them.
Consumers of bread
in Bauchi will now pay more for the commodity, as sellers have raised
its price thanks to an increase in the prices of the ingredients used
in its production.
The state
secretary of the Bread Sellers’ Association of Nigeria, Ibrahim Usman
Mohammed, told newsmen yesterday in Bauchi that the price increase
became necessary in light of the hike in the costs of all the
breadmaking ingredients and components, such as flour, water, yeast,
sugar, wood and more.
Mr Mohammed added
that a bag of flour now sells for N7,000, compared to the former price
of N5000, and a bag of sugar is now N10,000 instead of N8,000.
He appealled to
the relevant authorities to do something about the way prices of every
commodity seem to be increasing by the day following the general
elections. This, he said, had made it difficult for breadmakers, who
can no longer afford to sell the commodity at its old price.
Consumers complain
Onoriode Umukoro, a
student at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University who resides in the
Yelwa area of the state capital, said she was taken by surprise by the
increase in the price of bread.
She said, “I came
to buy bread this morning, when I was told that a loaf I used to buy
has now risen from N70 to N100. When the woman selling bread told me, I
thought she was joking. But it is true and I am not finding it easy at
all. Even the one I used to buy at N40 is now N60. I had to buy the one
of N60 instead of the one of N70 I used to buy. I pray that the price
should go down because it is difficult for me to cope with this
increase.”
A woman selling
bread at Wunti Market in Bauchi said the increase was not in the
interest of the common man, adding that most of her customers were
shocked and disappointed to know of the new price, which has meant that
some of them are no longer able to buy the product.
She added, “When they learned of the new prices, they were not
happy as some of them even thought I was the one that increased it
until they went to other places where bread was sold and discovered the
price had actually increased,” pointing out that many customers have
complained to her and other traders about this development.
