Residents Lament as Bread Scarcity Hit Kaduna, Katsina, and Kano

In Kaduna, Katsina, and Kano, residents are groaning about the scarcity and the increase in the price of bread. The price has increased due to the shortage that only a few people can afford to buy it.

It was learnt that the price of a 50kg bag of flour shot up from between N53,000 and N55,000, as of June 2024, to as high as between N67,000 and N70,000 today.

According to reports, a baker pointed to having his staff off duty since July 1st, 2024, due to the inability to sustain productivity due to high costs of production emanating from flour, sugar, oil, and other additives.

The baker added, “How can we produce bread and break even under this precarious situation?”

From buying 100 loaves to selling with tea and bread, sellers like Haidar Basiru from Kaduna claim they are only able to get 30 loaves.

The bakeries are saying they are on strike due to a hike in flour and sugar. This development has seriously affected our businesses as we usually operate in the mornings and evenings, she laments.

A provisions seller in Kaduna, Kafayat Sadiq, said she had not been able to stock bread in her shop since Tuesday because her supplier complained of the high cost of flour.

A resident of Funtua, in Katsina, Aliyu Idris, stated that bread prices have also increased.

He said, ”For instance, a loaf of bread that sold for between N200 before now goes for N400. This has affected all the sizes of the bread.”

Mr Idris also stated that tea sellers and shop owners were now finding it very hard to get the commodity for sale to their customers.

They now turn to alternatives: instant noodles, millet porridge, bean cake and bean bread, as they could barely afford a loaf of bread, their preferred staple.

“I had to buy spaghetti for my children this morning as bread was not available for them to take to school,” says Abdullahi Muhammad of Kaduna.

The review in price tags had been of triple order, as a loaf of bread that sold at N200 in Funtua, Katsina State, now sells for N400.

In Kano, a loaf formerly sold for N600 but is now sold for N800, and sliced bread rose from N1,200 to N1,600.

From bakers down to shop owners and consumers, everyone has joined in the fray to decry the situation.

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Oluwasegun Sanusi

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