By Pwanagba Agabus, Jos
The Plateau State chapter of
Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria (AMBCN), has appealed to the Federal Government to support Nigerian flour millers by making foreign exchange available to them.
The Association also said, subjecting flour millers to sourcing for foreign exchange in the parallel market for importing essential raw materials would lead to a continuous rise in the price of flour.
Chairman of AMBCN in the State, Mr Adedayo Taiwo made the appeal in Jos, the State Capital, at a stakeholders meeting organised by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) in collaboration with the Bank of Industry and AMBCN.
He called on government at all levels to encourage the local production of the essential items that are imported such as wheat and sugar.
The chairman also called on the flour millers to have a wheat farm were the can grow enormous wheat for the production of their own flour rather than importing wheat.
Taiwo noted that the act would help boost the Internally Generated Revenue of the country and create employments for the teeming youths of the nation.
The chairman further suggested the reduction in the cost of items used for baking, stressing that the high cost of items purchased for baking is directly proportiona of items has in turn led to the high cost in production.
He said the high cost of production has also led to the high cost of the various commodities produced by the bakers.
Earlier, Mr Gambo Dimka, the State Coordinator, (SON) Jos, said the essence of the stakeholders meeting was to find out the challenges of bakeries in the state and come up with realistic solutions that could revamp the sector.
According to him, the baking industry is experiencing a tremendous setback due to high inflation in the country resulting in the high cost of production.
Similarly, Mrs Abishak Woshak, Plateau State Office Manager BOI, said that the BOI had different windows in which bakers can benefit from.
Woshak however lamented that some bakers, who have benefitted from the bank’s loan had failed to pay back the money.
The stakeholders meeting had various bakers and flour mills represented.
