LGroup of water producers under the aegis of the Table Water and Beverage Producers Association of Nigeria has blamed the high cost of materials to the hike in prices of a bag of sachet water from N250 to N500 and a pack of bottled water from N1200 to N1500.
The National President of the Association, Prince Adeniyi Olukoya, made this known while speaking with newsmen.
He noted that the decision to increase their products was due to the astronomical growth of their source of production and distribution.
Olukoya, flanked by other executive members of the association, however, urged the federal government to expedite action on the economic reforms of the administration.
He said, “We cannot be selling at a loss. Our prices will have to be increased a little bit for us to remain in business.
“The economic situation of the country is not allowing us to keep the price as low as we would have loved to have it.
“For instance, a kilogramme of printed rolls, which is the sachet that contains the water, as of last year was N1400, but it is now N3900. The packing bags where we normally packed 20 sachets of water cost N4400, but today, they are as expensive as N17000. The diesel we are buying, which was N600 per litre, is now N1700, while petrol, which was N192 per litre, is now N650.
“The vehicles we use to distribute this water—the fairly used mini trucks we often call ‘Tokunbo’, were between N4m and N5m, but they are now between N9m and N11m, likewise the exorbitant prices of tyres and other spare parts.
“We, however, appealed to members of the public not to buy substandard water from quacks who are only out to make money at the detriment of the people.
“We assured members of the public that our association will continue to deliver quality service to our customers and will be ready to bring down prices as the economy improves.”
