Shapeless, burnt bread selling at half-price as economic crunch bites

For months now the price of bread has steadily been rising, forcing many consumers to forgo the popular breakfast accompaniment.

Manufacturers say they have been forced to adjust prices upward due to the high cost of doing business.

Since January the cost of bread has risen between Sh5 and Sh10. However, some consumers who cannot fathom doing without the loaves have resorted to a cheap alternative.

They buy cheap, deformed bread sourced by suppliers from bakers in Industrial area. Tom Onchiri is one of the traders who has been selling this kind of bread at the junction of Kaloleni and Shauri-Moyo.  “The loaves of bread are called rejects because sometimes when being baked, they come out with irregular shapes or part of them are burnt,” he told The Nairobian. The trade booms around evening hours when city residents are heading home.

“The bakers sell them at throwaway prices. Sometimes we buy a whole sack at Sh300,” says Onchiri. 

Unlike normal bread that retails at Sh65 in shops, traders sell them between Sh20 and Sh40 depending on the size.

Notably, the loaves of bread don’t come with company wrappers; instead the traders rely on plain polythene bags to pack them ready for the loyal customers

“When bread comes out in bad shape, it is not sealed like others since some companies fear tainting their brands. At the moment the number of customers has increased. Over the weekend I sold 100 loaves from 40 that is usually sold on weekdays,” says another trader.

A spot check by The Nairobian established that the rejected loaves are also sold within Mukuru slums, Pipeline, Makongeni and Shauri Moyo.

“I have been doing this for five years. Sometimes back we used to sell a 400 grams bread for Sh10 but we have increased slightly because the bakers have also increased,” added the trader. 

Other reject stuff sold at the cheap include packaged milk, biscuits and tissue papers, which retails between Sh10 and Sh15 per roll while a packet of milk is sold at 30 shillings.