The Nasarawa Chapter of the Association of Table Water Producers (ATWAP) has said it will soon start selling a sachet of water for N20 due to the cost of production.
Usman Diggi, Chairman of ATWAP in Keffi-Mararaba, made the disclosure on Saturday in Karu Local Government Area (LGA) at the end of a two-day workshop organised for their members in the area.
He said that because of the high cost of production materials, it was no longer feasible for them to continue to sell sachet water at the cost of N10.
The chairman attributed the reason for the proliferation of substandard table water in the state to high cost of production materials.
Diggi described as unfortunate the attitude of some members who have reduced the quality of their products due to the cost of production.
“It is better to increase the price of pure water and maintain the quality than to produce substandard products given its health implications.
Diggi, however, appealed to the government to do something urgently to reduce the prices of the materials so that sachet water would still be sold for N10 in the interest of the common people who were already going through a lot.
“The cost of nylon per kilogramme used to be N450 but at the moment it has gone up to N1,200, which is over 100 per cent increase and yet a bag of table water is sold for between N60 and N70.
“We are running at a loss, that is why some of our members are cutting corners to enable them to run the business,” he said.
Diggi added that the association was doing its best to discourage the practice while appealing to government to come to their aid.
He said a lot of their members have closed their factories due to high taxes, double taxation and high cost of materials in the market.
Diggi assured the public that the association, in collaboration with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), would ensure the production of quality table water.
Also speaking, Mr. Dadi Nantim Mullak, State Coordinator of NAFDAC, appealed to consumers to inform the agency of any illegal table water production in their area.
The NAFDAC coordinator said the agency has been going round to ensure that producers abide by safety standards.
He said they were also partnering with traditional rulers to ensure that only quality table water is produced and sold in the state