Victor Akinkuolie, Ado-Ekiti

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Consumers of bread in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State have expressed concern over the increase in the price of the commodity.
From the lowest and the biggest size of the product, which was before the increase sold for N70, N150, N250 and N500 respectively, are now sold for N80, N150, N300 and 700.
Speaking with The Hope in Ado-Ekiti, on the hike, some residents of the state described the situation as serious against the backdrop of what they described as the usefulness of the commodity which according to them is fast becoming one of the staple food items usually eaten by people irrespective of their status in the area.
They expressed the fear that except government intervened in the matter to avert further increment in the price of the commodity, it may become elusive to low income earners in the area.
When The Hope went round Ado-Ekiti, the capital of the state, and some supermarkets located in some locations in the town, the price increase was noticed as all the sellers who displayed the commodity were selling at a uniform price.
In an interview with The Hope, a bread seller, Mrs. Modupe Ariyibi, expressed sadness over the sudden hike in the price of bread, saying the development has affected her sales.
According to her, since the increase, apart from the fact that her sales have dropped, she has also been compelled to spend extra amount in the purchase of the commodity.
She lamented that as a result of the perishable nature of the item and the attendant low sales, she has experienced losses as she was compelled to dispose many of the commodity she could not sell.
Similarly, another seller of the commodity, at Atikankan street in Ado-Ekiti, Mallam Yaqub Muritala, who sells the product with frying egg and tea, described the situation as unfavourable, adding that the price increase has affected his business as he now experience low sales.
In his reaction to the price increase, one of the zonal Chairman of Bakers’ Association in Ekiti state, Mr. Kayode Anifowose, attributed the hike in the prices of the commodity to increase in the cost of items used in the production of the product.
According to him, he stated that a bag of flour which was being sold at the rate of 5000 at the beginning of the year, has now gone to N7,000 while the prices of other items like yeast, sugar, butter and groundnut oil which are also used in the production process have also gone up.
While expressing serious concern over the development, Anifowose appealed to the government to intervene saying the move could help to avert further increase in the cost of the items used in the production of bread and prevent it from being taking off the table of consumers.
In addition, he also sought for the assistance of the government in the provision of financial support through the disbursement of soft loans to bread producers saying the measure would help to ameliorate the plight of both the producers and consumers of the commodity.