Association of Table Water Producers (ATWAP) says it will shut down and suspend production in Enugu due to the unbearable high cost of production.
The association announced this in a statement by its chairman in Enugu, Tony Edike, and secretary, Clems Nwamadi, on Sunday.
The statement was issued after ATWAP members held an emergency meeting in Enugu on February 8, 2024, on the challenges confronting them.
It said that from Monday to Thursday, all table water producers in Enugu had to down tools and suspend all production.
The association stated that this is to enable them to seek a workable solution to the many challenges being faced by members.
ATWAP explained that there had been an over 500 per cent increase in the prices of raw materials and other factors of production, which include: nylon, parking bags, purifying materials, procurement of water from boreholes located outside the city, diesel, high electricity tariff, haulage and transportation and other maintenance and staff costs.
The statement stressed that ATWAP, after receiving field reports from various zones, indicated that many producers had shut down their factories due to the high cost of materials and other production challenges that had increased their rate among the members