Government meets bakers today

A meeting between the government and the bakers' cooperative is scheduled for this afternoon to discuss the price of bread.

A spokesman for the Competitiveness and Communications Ministry said the meeting will be attended by representatives of the ministry, the Finance Ministry and the Investments Ministry, apart from cooperative members.

Bakers want to increase the price of bread from 19c to 21c for a large loaf and from 12c to 13c for a small loaf unless the burden of government-induced costs is eased.

Cooperative president Karmenu Micallef told The Times yesterday bakers were being pressured into taking action because of the recent increase in the price of flour and the fuel surcharge. The cooperative is asking the government to alleviate these pressures.

Mr Micallef said he could not understand how the price of bread was controlled when the price of flour had recently increased by 33c per sack. He said either the government liberalised the whole chain in the production of bread or else controlled the process throughout.

Mr Micallef explained that while the possibility of converting to a gas system had been discussed recently, this was not a practical solution for all bakers because not everyone had enough storage space for gas cylinders. However, he said, this was something the bakers wanted to keep working on, with the help of the government. He said a considerable investment was needed to convert to gas.

The cooperative had written to the Consumer and Competition Division requesting a subsidy to compensate bakers for the higher cost of diesel and thin fuel oil as well as the cost of living rise. Mr Micallef said that unless the price of bread was duly adjusted, bakers would have no alternative but raise the price - or close shop.

However, the bakers are not expecting an immediate solution and Mr Micallef said that if there was a ray of hope following this afternoon's meeting, the cooperative would not take action.

Labour MP Marie Louise Coleiro said the problems faced by bakers stemmed from a lack of serious planning by the government, which had allowed the situation to deteriorate over the past months. She said the government should not waste any more time in addressing the issue.

It needed to find a balance between the right of bakers to a decent standard of living and ensuring that Maltese families are not faced with an increase in the price of this essential commodity.