BREAD BAKERY BUSINESS BECOMES BITTER IN GHANA

By: Miriam Abeley Andah

   Bakers are disheartened as bread business drops in profit making in Ghana as prices of ingredients keep increasing.

   The flour made food which has soo many names given to it in different regions and countries has become a competitive business for those who are yet to begin and bitter for most people who are already into business. Bread in the olden days was a common affordable accompaniment for breakfast. In recent years, bread has become a food for the rich as prices of ingredients for kneading bread keeps increasing 2weeks to a month. This has resulted in the low patronage of bread since customers find it too expensive to afford for a family’s meal.

   According to Olivia, a baker who has been into the business for 14 years, bread business has become less profitable for her and most bakers at large since more people are now into the business giving customers preference to choose who to buy from. As such, now customers are supplied from 4-6 bakers at the same time reducing quantity supplied by each baker.

   She continued to give a comparison of some years back prices of ingredient to recent times. She said in 2001 at the time of business commencement, flour was GH₵17.00, a bag of sugar GH₵ 65.00-70.00, bucket and box of margarine GH₵ 25.00-50.00 respectively, nutmeg was six for GH₵1.00, flavour GH₵1.50p for big bottle, 70-80pesewas for small bottle, yeast GH₵2.50p for a pack, salt 10-20pesewas, tin milk was 60-70pesewas and gas was GH₵ 15.00-70.00. Now, flour is GH₵150.00, sugar GH₵150-160, bucket and box of margarine GH₵83.00, 150.00-160.00 respectively, nutmeg is now four for GH₵2.00 flavour GH₵20.00 for big bottle, 2.20p for small bottle, yeast GH₵8.00-10.00 for a pack, salt GH₵1.00, tin milk GH₵2.60 and gas GH₵ 41.00-170.00. Before, bread ranges from 10p-1.00 but now it ranges from GH₵1.00-10.00. 

Indeed the estimate above is a clear proof that, cost of ingredient has had an adverse uplifting. Quoting her “the flame that exudes from oven, waking up at dawn to bake, sleepless night, and sometimes ungrateful customers makes the work tedious with low profit in recent times’ has made the business an unhappy one to be in.

   According to her, profit gained on kneaded bread was three forth of money invested for a bag of flour but now only GH₵30.00-40.00 is gained. This money does not satisfy expenditure, more money investment in production, customer complains about quality and sizes, high competition and unrefundable money from creditors are some challenges faced in the business making it an unpleasant one for some bakers she said.