(“All those who produce bread today are all in debt”)
The news in recent weeks in Benin is marked, among other things, by the increase or not in the price of bread. While consumers are crying out for increases, bakers are thinking about maintaining the price, in accordance with the prescriptions of a ministerial decree dated 2008. On analysis, if the State does not subsidize, it is unlikely that bread continues to be sold at 125F to the end consumer.
The prices of the components used in the manufacture of bread have increased since the adoption of the 2008 ministerial decree. Several players are also involved in the chain of production and marketing of bread, which is proving to be a basic necessity. Faced with the price realities in the market, the price of bread is likely to increase. Crooked traders did not wait for normalization before embarking on speculation. This is why the National Association of Bakery-Pastry Promoters and Operators of Benin (ANAPEB-BENIN) organized on February 11, 2023, a reflection on the future of bread in Benin. According to the organization, several measures are planned to clean up the sector and revive the bread production units. Bread producers, in accordance with the ministerial decree dated September 6, 2008, will continue to sell at the ceiling price of 112 f the 160g bread to good ladies. According to the president of ANAPEB-BENIN, Anselme Aguèmon, the reflections in progress should make it possible to maintain the price of bread at 125F pending the issuance of a new ministerial order. Because, he justifies, the sector of pastry chefs and bakers is a sensitive sector. Raising prices cannot be done on a cookie-cutter basis. In this regard, here are the comments collected by your newspaper from President Anselme Aguèmon.
Reaction of the president of ANAPEB-BENIN, Anselme Aguèmon
“All those who produce bread today are all in debt”
“Everything that goes into the production of bread is expensive. We sell bread under the decree of 2008. This decree recommends selling bread weighing 160 grams at 112 francs to the bakery and at 125 francs to consumers. When the decree was issued, wheat flour was between 12,000 and 14,000 FCFA. Today, the flour is sold at 28,000 or 29,000 FCFA. The can of diesel that we took at 8,000, 9,000, today the price of a can of diesel has gone from 19,000 to 20,000 of our francs. To this salty picture must be added the factors of water and electricity. Everything that comes into play for us to have the bread has doubled in price. We, being aware that it is not overnight that we must change the decree of 2008, we are currently in negotiation with the government. The government even agreed to set up a committee because in the PAG phase 2, there are reforms in the bakery sector written into the document since 2021.
Now, given that we are already in talks with the State, the majority of our compatriots who are in the process of closing due to debt, we said to ourselves, currently we ourselves are giving up our bread to our intermediaries. We have two, those that sell by basket and to our moms. So, before the bread reaches the consumer, we have found that it takes at least two intermediaries, that is, the street vendors and the good ladies. Now the decree of 2008 gives us the possibility of selling the bread up to 112 francs. Where we are today, we are all aware that we are driving at a loss. And we all got into debt, none of us can pay the taxes. We have gone further, we have caused harm to our suppliers, that is to say those who deliver flour to us, we have put them all in difficulty at the moment.
Who gets them in trouble?
If we are in debt logically those too cannot pay the taxes. We said to ourselves, when we finished diagnosing, we realized that the State is listening to us because I cannot lie to you, the Minister of Commerce is open, she is working with us so that we can find a solution to the situation. So we can’t wait, since the bakers are currently closing, we said to ourselves, we currently deliver bread at 90 francs or 100 francs for others, yet we can’t make it. We owe virtually all of our suppliers. We said to ourselves, if this is so, it is better to sell the bread in accordance with the 2008 decree which sets the price at 112. So, we must now sell the bread at 112 Francs to our intermediaries. Now, as for them, they have to go and resell the bread at 125. And that’s what led us to tell our compatriots that we won’t be able to eliminate the good ladies. We can first suspend the sellers, those who carry the baskets. First, it is already part of the reforms in the sector. Ourselves, we have only estimated now, in view of what we have seen in terms of hygiene and sanitation. Especially the hygiene compared to those. It’s people when you see them, they’re not well dressed. These are people who don’t brush often in the mornings. The lids they use to cover the loaves are not clean. We, we said to ourselves, those, they can wait.
For more than two years, we have been going into debt now we are going to give the bread to our mothers and they will earn 15 francs. The consumer will buy the bread at most at 125. But what did we do wrong there? As a producer, we are closing down and the intermediaries are the ones who are winning. They have been winning for years. Now what brought us here is simply the fact that the products we have been using since have increased. We have to find a solution, if we close, what are the good ladies going to do? We felt that President Talon can’t go down in everything. We must take our responsibilities ourselves before the State comes with us. And we believe that those who are going to take with motorcycles and who are going to sell in town, we must integrate them into our bakeries. It’s true not everyone can be taken into account. We are in a committee that meets every Tuesday to discuss all these points at the ministry. Today, when we say that everything has taken a toll, our managers, our authorities don’t know yet, they have to go to our units. And we have already taken examples, we will come to my house, we will prepare the bread, we will calculate, we will see how much we spent to have this bread. The cost of the unit, one will do the same exercises with others with the sweet bread. When we are going to finish all this now, the file will be put together to be sent to the Council of Ministers. And it is there that it will be validated and it is the State that will officially say that the price of bread has changed. We are working to respect the laws of the Republic. We are here to do the framing.
In reality what you want to do is to cut out the intermediaries?
We are in the process of eliminating intermediaries. The State is in the process of accompanying us in this direction. Now there is a social problem that arises. Are we going to close our units while waiting for the reforms to be made? Since we don’t produce flour, oil, all that comes from outside and everyone knows the price here. Now I owe people who bother me every day. I am not alone. Do your research, everyone who produces bread today is all in debt. Many have already closed. We have taken our responsibility, we said to ourselves that we are not going to wait for the President of the Republic. Before, our mothers earned 35 francs on a single loaf. It was because there were margins that they were allowed to earn so much money. But today, they earn only 15 francs on a loaf. And they want to challenge. What do they want to challenge? So let them go and open their own bakery to see what it’s like. We said to ourselves, today consumers only have to go to the bakeries to pay for the bread instead of waiting for the intermediaries. We are going to guarantee the State that we have vehicles, we have compatriots who have vehicles, we have negotiated with people who are ready to hand over the vehicles to us in order to pay them little by little to distribute the bread and also pay the hygiene problem.
Jean-Claude KOUAGOU