Nearly 40% of premium bread makers in Nigeria have shut down their factories over the past two to three years due to severe economic headwinds, skyrocketing energy costs, and poor access to affordable credit, the Premium Breadmakers Association of Nigeria (PBAN) has disclosed.

Speaking on the sidelines of PBAN’s 2026 Day-Out event in Lagos on Thursday, November 12, 2026, the association’s President, Engr. Emmanuel Onuorah, warned that unrelenting operational pressures are threatening both business survival and jobs across the baking industry.

Themed "Baking Through the Economic Storm: Innovation, Efficiency and Growth for a Sustainable Industry," the event spotlighted the urgent need for operational efficiency to prevent a total collapse of the sector.

"The past years have been very tough. Words cannot even express how we feel. Our businesses are struggling, businesses are going down, and members are closing. In the last two years, we have lost close to 40 per cent of our membership to economic pressures," Onuorah lamented.

"Energy is killing businesses. We are trying to innovate, be creative and improve efficiency because, without efficiency, there is no way we can remain in business," he added.

Onuorah, a petroleum engineer with 25 years of experience in the oil and gas sector, revealed that PBAN has been exploring alternative energy solutions—including hybrid systems capable of switching between diesel and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).

However, he noted that transitioning even a small-scale bakery to a hybrid CNG system costs between ₦40 million and ₦50 million, an expense further complicated by inadequate CNG supply nationwide.

Efforts to adopt solar energy were similarly abandoned after financing proposals proved more expensive than current grid and generator electricity bills.

The PBAN president also faulted Nigeria’s banking system for stifling real-sector businesses with punitive lending terms, noting that a recent bid to secure a ₦12 million loan to solarise his facility's lighting and air-conditioning was met with a 34 per cent interest rate and a 20 per cent counterpart funding requirement.

"How do you expect small businesses to survive with interest rates of 34 per cent? We are not asking for free money. We are asking for single-digit interest rates that businesses can realistically repay," he stated.

Questioning the reach of government-backed intervention funds, Onuorah alleged that politically connected individuals routinely hijack these schemes at the expense of genuine operators.

He urged the Federal Government to provide targeted grants and single-digit financing to support energy transition in the bakery industry, stressing that sustainable power remains critical to preserving jobs and driving economic growth.

ID