Economy
Baking Industry is Key for Food Production in Nigeria—Pande
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Managing Director of Crown Flour Mill Limited, Mr Ashish Pande, has described the baking industry as very important for food production in Nigeria.
He said the sector, asides from producing one of the key staple foods in the country, bread, the segment has also created jobs for thousands of people employed in its value chain.
In a statement issued by Crown Flour Mill, makers of the popular Mama Gold Flour brands, to felicitate with Nigerian bakers on the commemoration of the World Baking Day on Monday, May 17, 2021, Mr Pande said the company will continue to provide scaled support resources to bolster the productivity level and employment-generating capacity of the baking industry.
“The baking industry is key for food production in Nigeria; it produces bread, a major staple food in the country, not to mention pastries and confectionery.
“Asides producing Nigeria’s leading staple food, the bread segment creates jobs for thousands of people employed in its value chain, which ranges from bakers down to street hawkers.
“Having realised the importance of the segment to the Nigerian economy, in consultation with bakers, we were able to identify skill and knowledge gaps that needed to be closed if the segment was to continue playing its crucial role in supporting the Nigerian economy and food security.
“Thereafter, we launched a baking school, which has continued to enhance the skill and know-how of operators of non-mechanized or artisanal bakeries since 2018,” he said
Speaking about the company’s baking school and why the firm prioritised bakers’ capacity development, Mr Olayinka Yusuf, Head, Crown Flour Mill Baking School, explained that the baking school offers bakers the opportunity to enhance their technical and business management skills.
“We believe that with the right knowledge, artisanal bakers can improve their output with their existing equipment, resulting in lower production costs and increased margins,” he said.
Mr Yusuf revealed that Crown Flour has committed about N120 million to training bakers pan-Nigeria from 2020 to date.
So far, 1,500 bakers have benefitted from the firm’s capacity building initiative. The Crown Flour baking programme focuses on equipping both existing and the next generation of bakers with the requisite knowledge and skills to take the industry to the next level.
The firm’s baking schools are currently located in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Lagos, Warri, Ilorin, Calabar and Kano where bakers are taken through a 3-day intensive accelerated bakers’ training course for free.
The lockdown afforded many interested bakers the opportunity to hone their skills, prompting them to keep on improving their craft.
“Baking can be a very lucrative vocation and the requisite requirement is the passion and will to pursue one’s dream,” Mr Pande said.
The success and positive feedback from bakers who attended the baking school are heartening.
Mrs Keyede Kikelomo of Excel Bakery said: “I have learnt a lot from this training. One thing I didn’t know before the training was the high-water absorption rate of Mama Gold which translates into an extra dough which results in extra profit per bag of flour.”
Another participant, Mr Ogugba Ernest of Dan Real Bakery shared that he learnt a lot from the Crown Flour baking school.
In his words, “I have learnt the impact, good bakery practices such as ingredients measurement, sanitation and staff management have on the profitability of my bakery.”
World Baking Day is celebrated globally. The commemorative event provides an opportunity for bakers and millers to highlight the benefits of baked foods and drive further innovation in the baked foods industry as households increasingly pivot to wheat derivative foods due to their higher nutrition values, price advantage and availability.
Crown Flour is a subsidiary of Olam, an agribusiness conglomerate.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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