Dangote group not responsible for hike in food prices, says Fatima Dangote

Innocent Raphael

An Executive Director of the Dangote Group of Companies, Hajiya Fatima Dangote, has explained that the Dangote Group of Companies is not responsible for the rising prices of food commodities presently being experienced in the country.

Stating this in an interview with the Hausa Service of the BBC, Hajiya Fatima revealed that the group had sold the food processing company five years ago to Olam Group which processes food and agric-business in Nigeria.

According to her, Olam was now the producer of flour, pasta, semolina, and every flour product in the markets is not produced by the Dangote Group.

 “In the concession agreement, it was agreed that they would continue using our brand name for their products, and hopefully by next year, they will stop.

“For consumables, we’re only producing sugar, salt, and Dangote classic seasonings. Again, we hope to start producing rice later this year or next,’’ she noted.

Adding that the group was not comfortable with the way prices seem to be hitting the rooftop, she further explained it was not within the control of the group, as she expressed hope that stability would be restored soon.

Quizzed whether the group was considering slashing  prices of some products, she said, “We’re not responsible for the price hike. We buy the raw sugar in dollars from Brazil; they don’t sell to us in naira.”

“The same thing with the crude salt and every other thing, that’s the issue. It’s only cement that we get its raw materials in Nigeria. But its processing chain lies in dollars; the trucks that ferry the product, gas, tires, and spare parts are all in dollars.’’

The Executive Director further claimed that the group was unaware that cement was retailed at N15,000 in the local markets.