Residents of Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital are about to be hit with scarcity of sachet water popularly known as ‘pure water’.
The scarcity in pure water will hit the city following the strike action by producers of sachet water under the umbrella of Association of Table Water Producers of Nigeria (ATWAP), Akwa Ibom State branch due to high cost of production materials and less profit in the business.
The body had resolved after its meeting with members over the weekend to embark on strike on Monday, May 17.
Following the strike action, the prices of sachet water which used to juggle between 120 and 150naira has spiked to 200naira a bag.
The strike has also affected the supply of the water to retail shops who were either out of stock or had very few bags in stock.
Offering insight into the action, one of the producers, disclosed that the strike was stemmed from the high cost of their main production materials.
He said, ”the cost of the nylon which used to be N650 per kg had gone up to N1,510 per kg, while the packing bag which was N3,500 per bundle is now sold between N8,500 and N9,000.”
Meanwhile, the spike has affected the prices for retail of the product as one sachet of pure water now goes for 20naira as against 10naira.
