Bakers push for way to make up for kerosene price hike

The bakers' cooperative is calling on the government to find a way to "lighten the burden that has been imposed on bakers following the hike in the price of kerosene announced in the budget speech".

The cooperative will this week be drawing up a cost analysis of the sharp rise in the cost of kerosene and submit it to the government to back up its argument.

The cooperative has embarked on this exercise in anticipation of an "urgent" meeting it hopes to have with Censu Galea, Minister for Competitiveness and Communications. There are about 170 bakeries in Malta, 140 of them members of the cooperative.

During a meeting the cooperative held for its members yesterday at the Topaz Hotel in Bugibba, cooperative president Karmenu Micallef explained how the rise in cost of fuel and other overheads would cut into the profit margins of people in the trade.

Talking to The Times after the meeting, Mr Micallef noted that a bakery fired by kerosene was facing an additional weekly expense of about Lm160 because of the rise in price of the fuel.

He was loud and clear in his message, saying "all of this not forgetting the rise in wages for employees and the eco tax bakers have to pay every time they service their vehicles, including the purchase of engine oil, tyres and batteries.

"Bakers who had modernised their system of baking are now being penalised as they have now been put at a disadvantage compared to those bakeries that are still wood-fired."

During the meeting, Mr Micallef described to the cooperative's members the impact of these additional costs on their financial returns.

The price of kerosene has been upped by a hefty 19c3 per litre from 15c1.

Mr Micallef explained that a similar situation had arisen in 1997 when the price of kerosene rose by five cents but the government had then made up for that increase by refunding the bakers the difference.

Cooperative secretary Joe Portelli said the cooperative had written to the Office of Fair Competition which in turn had passed their complaint to the Ministry of Competitiveness and Communications.

The cooperative had also submitted its case in writing to the Prime Minister but it had so far heard nothing from the Office of the Prime Minister.

Mr Micallef is against passing on the additional costs to the consumer: pushing up the retail price would push down the demand.

The last rise in the price of the traditional Maltese loaf was registered last August when the price for a large loaf went up from 16c to 17c to make up for an additional 56 cents in the cost of a sack of flour and a cost of living increase.

"A lower demand will result in a rise in the price of bread. For the past three months we have experienced a low demand for bread.

"While not so many years ago, a family used to consume about six to seven loaves a day, now a family might buy one loaf a day."

The problem with running costs was that the government was still expecting bakers to stick to the old model which was based on the amount of flour used and is about 30 years old.

"This model is now out of date because in those days, bakers used to sell loaves weighing 800 grammes (ratlejn) and even 1.2 kilos (nofs wizna).

"The demand for traditional Maltese bread has dipped sharply because of the campaigns urging people to eat bread made from whole wheat and the proliferation of packed snacks.

"People on a health kick seem to forget about the fats and oils added to other bread. The traditional Maltese loaf is the genuine loaf - with no additives," Mr Micallef said.

When contacted, Minister Galea said he would have absolutely no difficulty in meeting the bakers.

He added that he would be considering the letter the cooperative had sent to the Office of Fair Competition, which was subsequently forwarded to him by the office as a request for a meeting.

Mr Galea said he would be contacting the bakers' cooperative today.