The Association of Table Water Producers, ATWAP, has explained that its members were compelled to increase the price of sachet water, also known as “pure water”, due to the astronomical increase in the cost of production.
The North Central Coordinator of the association and Chairman of the Benue state branch, Mr Terna Gile who made this known Thursday in Makurdi, said the increment was a nationwide thing stressing that with the price adjustment producers now sell a bag of sachet water for N200 while retailers sell a sachet for N20.
He said: “That is the least price we can offer if we must not operate at a loss. And this adjustment came as a result of our discussion at the national conference in Abuja on October 26, where we did our cost analysis for production and arrived at the N200.”
According to him, “The prices of all that we use as our basic raw material for production have increased by over 400 per cent, like the polyethylene which we use for packing the water. We use only the food-grade quality which was approved by NAFDAC.
“And as at today the price has risen from N600,000 to N1.550 million per pack while the price of the bag which we use for packing the pure water rose from N350 before COVID-19 to N3,500; and as at today, depending on the quality, it is selling for between N11,000 to N12,000.
“These products are made from polyethene which is a petroleum by-product and the only company in Nigeria that supplies it to us is the Eleme Petrochemicals and the company can only produce 35 to 40 per cent of our local consumption while 60 per cent has to be imported.
“So technically our products are also affected by foreign exchange fluctuations and they are also affected by the rise and fall of the prices of crude oil.”
Mr Gile who also fingered high cost of petrol and diesel, rise in electricity tariffs and taxation as some of the factors that necessitated the price increment assured that consumers would get the best quality water as any company found cutting corners would be sanctioned.
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