When the item on the subsidy for the Maltese loaf comes up for discussion in Cabinet tomorrow, there really should be only one option: scrap the subsidy and allow the cost of this type of bread to reflect market forces. Gone are the days when the Maltese loaf was the only one available and that it was a staple part of our diet.
Other types of bread on sale in local supermarkets and grocers have increased by 2c anyway. The consumer today has a vast choice of bread, including the healthier brown and oatmeal bread, which is more expensive anyway, so there is no reason why the Maltese loaf need be given any special attention, even though the price of flour has increased.
What is probably of concern to Government is the effect of any eventual increase in the price of bread on the cost of living index. Yet even this should not be controlled because Malta has an open economy and the consumer has other alternatives. There is also the matter of the agreement between Government and the Bakers' Co-operative under which Government is bound to increase the subsidy if increases above 20c are shown to have occurred.
The economics of any eventual increase make fascinating reading: the price of a 50 kg sack of flour has increased by Lm1.60, earlier than anticipated. The bakers, who are members of the co-operative, consume around 7,000 sacks a week. Competitiveness Minister Censu Galea last week said this increase amounts to over Lm11,000 a week, or just under Lm600,000 a year.
This increased cost should in no way be borne by the taxpayer but by the consumer. The bakers should be fully entitled to increase the cost of the Maltese loaf in these circumstances, given that all sides accept that the primary raw material - flour - has increased by 23 per cent from Lm7.08 to Lm8.68.
What the consumer then has every right to expect, and Government has a duty to enforce through spot checks and other enforcement measures, is that each loaf of bread should be the correct weight - within the agreed tolerances. You constantly hear shoppers complain that the Maltese loaf appears to be getting smaller and smaller.
As the talks between Government and the Bakers' Co-operative panned out last week, culminating in tomorrow's post-Cabinet meeting, it was clear that there was even some arm wrestling, with the bakers threatening to stop baking Maltese bread should they not be allowed to increase prices.
This would be a great pity, for the Maltese loaf is certainly unique and, to the Maltese palate, nothing beats a fresh loaf, still steaming from the baker, that is cut in slices, and served with fresh tomatoes, some mint or basil, capers, good olive oil and a touch of vinegar. Whether eaten at home or beside the sea, it is part of our culture.
What is also ironic is that Qormi, one of the major localities where bread is baked, with a long tradition, is planning to hold its annual Festival of Bread, with the theme 'Bread and politics' from tomorrow week to September 16.
So, just as the development of the Maltese loaf will be documented, this year's festival will examine the influence the country's leaders had on bread and the national economy in general. Whereas an increase in bread prices would have (and did) spark riots, like those of the Sette Giugno in the early decades of the last century, it is unlikely that anything similar will occur nowadays.
It is up to the consumer to demand the irreplaceable Maltese loaf - the kisra hobz - or the fancy bread (or other healthier options), which the bakers seem quite happy to produce in their stead. But the co-operative should use logic and the power of argument rather than threats in negotiating its position. Whatever is decided, it has to be accepted that the consumer is king. It is consumers who decide whether the Maltese loaf will live or go the way of the Ghonnella.