Port Harcourt, the Rivers capital, may experience scarcity of bread due to an increase in the price of flour.

A survey in the city, revealed that some bakeries had closed shop while others now produce at low capacity due to the high cost of flour, the major item used in baking.

The survey showed that the price of a 50-kilogramme bag of flour had risen to N7, 400 from its former price of N6, 200.

Consequently, the price of bread has recorded about 20 per cent increase, with a “luxury” loaf now selling for N280 as against N250 while the biggest size of bread now costs N350, from its former price of N300.

“We now sell the size next to ‘luxury’ at N160 instead of the normal price of N140,” Mrs Christiana Akpan, a bread seller, said.

She said that the commodity was fast becoming expensive and scarce because of the rising cost of flour, adding that it was becoming difficult for some bread sellers to buy much quantity for sale.

Akpan disclosed that regular buyers of bread had reduced their patronage, saying: “even families, who need bread everyday and still manage to come and buy, do not buy as much as they used to.’’

She called on the government to intervene and ensure that the price of flour was reduced to enable all bakeries to resume production and make bread available and affordable.

Mr Alaribe Agalah, the Manager, National Special Loaf, told newsmen that the situation was such that “a baker who used to exhaust 200 bags, if he continues to do so in the new price regime, he will incur a loss of N200, 000 for that quantity.”

He said that his bakery, which used to use 100 bags for bread production over a period of about two weeks, had reduced its usage to 50 bags “because our retailers have reduced the quantity they buy from us.’’