Premium bread makers in Nigeria have decried the hike in the prices of ingredients used used in making the product across the country.
The makers said the increase in prices of flour, sugar and other baking ingredients coupled with unbearable cost of energy and other forms of taxes have made making the bakery business environment an unfriendly one.
Although Financial times reports that the Nigerian bread industry is estimated at more than N122 Billion with a compound annual growth rate of 3 percent within the next year, they said the increment in the price of the ingredients poses great threat to the industry.
They now want government to look critically at the 15 percent levy on wheat grain which was introduced to help the growth of wheat cultivation in Nigeria, adding inspite of the high cost of baking ingredients, bakers have only been able to increase the price of bread by 11 percent.
The bread makers said they may be forced to embark on a price increase which will further make bread unaffordable to the common man.