Queen Nwabueze
Let’s begin by asking this simple tough question: “How much is a loaf of bread in your area?”
Indeed, bread which is the staple food consumed by most, if not all Nigerians, have suddenly become out of reach, not just for the common man, as we like to put but for the rich as well.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelBread prices jerked up, largely because of high cost of baking materials/ingredients as argued by bakers.
It will be recalled that the Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria (AMBCN) had, one time, directed its members, nationwide, to increase prices of bread, and other items by 30 per cent, citing the sudden increase in the cost of production as well as the worrisome economic situation of the country.
“After considering the impact of the skyrocketed prices of baking ingredients/materials, for the survival of our noble business, which is presently bleeding, the association came to the conclusion to adjust our prices by 30 percent,” said Mansur Umar, the National President of the association.
A stroll to local bread vendors, revealed that across Nigeria especially in Lagos, bread that used to be sold for N100 now sells for N200. The standard loaf that sold for N250 now sells for N450.
Honestly, if you are a bread aficionado, as many people, then you must have noticed that the price of your beloved staple has gone up dramatically, overtime.
Fine! Everyone including experts blame the sad development on the COVID-19 whirlwind, which truthfully, blew no one, no good. Pity! Just when we were about to let COVID off the hook, the recent Russia-Ukraine crisis became the scapegoat. But let’s not forget that in Nigeria alone the price of bread (500g) had jumped by 42% between 2017 and Q1 2022, according to data made available by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics. Now 2017 was pre-Covid and pre-Russia-Ukraine war, right!
Bottomline is that bread especially in the African continent has been getting expensive and more expensive for reasons no one could pinpoint with exactitude.
In the 2014 eBook “Bread in Africa” which was co-authored by Diane Lyons and Catherine D’Andrea as seen on Springer Nature, it was established that bread was a widely-consumed staple in Africa.
Across cultures, the food is consumed in many different ways. Some people eat it during breakfast and some at dinner. As such, it is always in demand. Therefore, let’s say the huge demand is perhaps the primary reason, bread prices have continued to soar with no end in sight yet. Now, this is not to say, however, that other macroeconomic factors have not ‘aided and abetted’ this. Yeah. For example, factors such as foreign exchange constraints and the occasional global supply chain strains and of course the Russia-Ukraine brouhaha…no thanks to the coronavirus too.
Oh well, this piece wouldn’t want to play the blame game right now.
Permit Prime Business Africa to just present to you a list of 5 African countries where a loaf of fresh white bread (500g) is most expensive to buy, according to Numbeo, a leading global database of consumer prices.
- Nigeria: A loaf of fresh white bread (500g) costs an average of $1.12 in Nigeria.
- South Africa: A loaf of fresh white bread (500g) costs an average of $0.98 in SA.
- Ghana: A loaf of fresh white bread (500g) goes for an average price of $0.79 in Ghana.
- Mauritius: A loaf of fresh white bread (500g) goes for an average price of $0.71 here.
- Egypt: A loaf of fresh white bread (500g) goes for an average price of $0.60 in Egypt.
There you have it! Are you an African? Which African country are you reading this piece from? Did you see your country represented here? What position? Let’s have your thoughts in the comments. Thanks.
I have always been a bread lover. And reasons for it’s sudden hike came as a surprise. Am A Nigerian, thanks to the post it clarified the reasons