In a candid address during the 7th Annual General Meeting of BUA Foods Plc in Abuja on Thursday, Chairman Abdul Samad Rabiu attributed the rising cost of foodstuffs in Nigeria to the manipulative activities of certain distributors and producers.
Rabiu stressed that artificial scarcity and inflated prices were driven by the greed of these industry players, who are deliberately restricting supply to drive up costs.
Rabiu’s remarks came as he commended President Bola Tinubu for his recent decision to grant duty waivers on food imports into Nigeria, a move aimed at curbing rising food prices.
“BUA products are the most affordable in the market, but other producers make it difficult to maintain low prices,” Rabiu said. “For instance, a few months ago, while the price of flour surged to N70,000 per bag, we kept ours at N50,000 to try and force a market adjustment. However, some companies stopped production to create scarcity, forcing the prices to go even higher.”
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He added that despite BUA’s efforts to stabilize prices, distributors added significant markups, exacerbating the problem. “While we priced our flour at N50,000, distributors added as much as N20,000 and sold at N70,000 per bag. At one point, customers were making almost N20 million per truck of flour due to these inflated prices.”
Rabiu noted that despite BUA’s substantial production capacity, two larger competitors halted their operations to manipulate the market, further aggravating the situation. He expressed optimism that BUA Foods would surpass its competitors by next year.
BUA’s Expansion Plans and Commitment to Food Security
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This development follows BUA Foods’ recent announcement of a partnership with FAVA, one of the world’s leading pasta equipment manufacturers, to expand its pasta production facilities. The collaboration with the Italian company aligns with BUA’s strategic plan to contribute significantly to Nigeria’s food security.
Ayodele Abioye, Managing Director of BUA Foods, highlighted the company’s remarkable growth despite the country’s economic challenges. “We continue to thrive, with our market capitalization now standing at N7.11 trillion,” Abioye said. “We debuted on the Nigerian Exchange three years ago with 377 shareholders; today, that number has grown to 5,000.”
The expansion efforts, according to Abioye, are long overdue, and the company remains committed to driving forward its contribution to the Nigerian economy.