Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria (AMBCN) has sounded out a note of warning to the Nigerian government in respect of the escalating costs of baking materials. The association has also threatened a total cease of operations in March if the government does not intervene.
This development came after a two-year-long plea from the association for the government’s help in addressing the increasing costs that have already forced many of its members to shut down their businesses, leading to significant job losses.
AMBCN has put a two-week ultimatum from the presentation of their charter of demands to commence a total service withdrawal. The national president of the association, Mansur Umar, and the national secretary, Jude Okafor, endorsed a statement highlighting their predicament.
The statement details the sharp increase in prices of major baking ingredients like flour, sugar, and butter, along with diesel and firewood over the past seven months.
According to the association, about 30 percent of its members have already closed down their operations, while about 40 percent of staff reductions have been carried out to keep businesses afloat. In an attempt to attract attention to their problem, AMBCN has planned protest marches to state government houses, demanding instant government intervention to avert further economic and security destabilization.
As part of their demands, AMBCN seeks the fulfilment of palliatives promised since 2020, freedom to import sugar to break the monopoly of major importers, and an active engagement with flour millers to decrease the cost of imported wheat.
AMBCN has also advised all its chapters to abide by the directives, to protect the industry from further contributing to the country’s unemployment problem.
