Manufacturers of sachet water, known as “pure water” in street parlance, in Imo State have commenced an indefinite strike because of the high cost of materials.
The association, rising from its meeting, held last week Friday, had asked its members in the state to commence a strike action due to the current situation which had made it difficult for them to produce with profit
In the whole city of Owerri since the strike started, there has been a scarcity of sachet water hawkers on the streets, with residents desperately looking for water to drink.
The situation has resulted in a sharp increase in the cost of a sachet of water from N10 to N20 per sachet, just like a bag of sachet water which used to be either N120 and N150 is now sold for N200.
The manufacturer and producer of Aqua Ken-Pass table water, Mr Chris Offor, said that the strike was a result of the high cost of their main production materials. He said that the cost of the nylon which used to be N650 per kg had gone up to N1,510 per kg, a situation which had given manufacturers sleepless nights.
He said that the situation has continued to pose a hardship to the manufacturers in the state, adding that as a manufacturer, he had to abide by the order of the chairman and the decision of the meeting to embark on the strike.
Offor said that the business of table water production in the state had not been without challenges because of the proliferation of the business. He regretted that people who came into the business wanted to make money by all means without minding the implications.
He added that what the leadership of the association had decided upon was to strengthen the association with a view to creating a better environment for the manufacturers in the state.