Explaining the rationale behind the strike in a chat with our correspondent in Uyo on Friday, a baker, Mr. Edem Ekpenyong Edem said the move was to draw attention to the high cost of bread ingredients and the impending increment in prices of bread.
“We have been battling with high cost of flour and other bread ingredients and that was why we effected minor increment in prices of bread but that has still not been able to make the business worthwhile; therefore we have decided to effect a major price increment to ensure that the cost of bread is commensurate with its ingredients”.
He, however, assured that the ongoing strike would be called off on Saturday as it was mainly arranged to drive the plight of bakers to the minds of consumers and get them prepared for possible increment in prices of various sizes of bread.
A market survey by Sundiata Post revealed that a bag of flour now goes for N11,000 against the N7,500-8,500 it was last year. Apart from flour, prices of other ingredients of this commonest food item has skyrocketed remarkably within the last couple of months.
The current scarcity of bread has worsened the economic situation in the state coupled with the high cost of living due to increment in prices of food items and every other item in the market, including kerosene which now goes for N300 per litre.
Mrs Idaraesit Umoh, a petty trader in Uyo lamented the high cost of living saying her income was no longer enough to feed her family.
“I do not understand why barkers should go to strike over high cost of living, they are not the only sector of the economy that has been affected by the ongoing economic crisis, it is everywhere, prices of every little items in the market have been increased, all we need to do is to make needed adjustment and get going.’’
“There is nothing to show that we have a listening government that is ready to respond and ensure immediate regulation of prices to make life a little easier, so we must all strive to become government for ourselves by making necessary adjustment and not imposing hardship on consumers through alarming increment and undue desire for huge profit’’.