NAFDAC DG urges other bakeries to follow suit
Bakeries have been encouraged to emulate UTC by substituting wheat flour with cassava flour in the production of bread and pastries.
This call was made by the Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Paul Orhii.
Orhii while speaking at the launching of UTC’s high quality cassava bread in Lagos on Thursday, decried the astronomical level of food importation in Nigeria.
He advised that the nation “must reduce our reliance on raw materials from abroad, especially if we have it in Nigeria”.
“We will save N300bn if we start manufacturing cassava-based bread. In 2010 alone, Nigeria imported wheat worth more than N636bn, rice worth more than N356bn and refined sugar worth more than N217bn,” Orhii said.
“Apart from saving the Federal Government N300bn, if we begin to eat bread made of cassava flour, it will create more jobs for farmers, the manufacturing sector and also save our foreign exchange. Even transporters and the whole value chain will benefit.”
The Federal Government, earlier this year, introduced a new fiscal policy regime to discourage food imports. The policy which takes effect on July 1, shall impose a 65% levy and 35% duty on wheat flour. Wheat grain shall attract a 15% levy and 5% duty.
UTC announced that it had made the switch to Cassava flour.
The Managing Director, UTC Nigeria Plc, Folorunsho Olaniyan said that her company had successfully substituted wheat flour with cassava in not just bread, but doughnuts, cakes and other pastries.
