Price of traditional loaf of bread is likely to rise
Increase is inevitable due cost of flour
The price of traditional Maltese bread is likely to rise again in the coming weeks, possibly by at least 2c, because of an increase in the cost of flour.
Bakers’ Cooperative president Ray Briffa said the increase was “inevitable”, adding that, now that the price of bread was liberalised, every baker “had to do his homework”.
He said bakers were reluctant to increase prices again, but had no option if their labour costs continued to rise. They would not take this decision lightly because a price increase would definitely affect consumption.
This was “not ideal” because they were also suffering due to stiff competition by imported bread and foreign frozen bread heated here and sold in supermarkets.
Mr Briffa said the latest flour increase, which came into force yesterday, added to the woes bakers were already facing with the higher prices of water, electricity, gas and fuel.
This coincides with a 4c increase in the price of a carton of milk.
He recalled that the price of flour had increased by €2 for a 50 kilogram sack, out of which bakers produced between 95 and 100 large loaves. The price of a large loaf of bread can be purchased for between 65c and 70c, depending from where it was bought.
Asked by how much the price of bread would have to increase, Mr Briffa said a rough calculation would see a loaf rise by 1c for every €1 increase in the price of a sack of flour and this excluded other increases to cover the latest prices of fuel, gas, water and electricity.
Many bakers were focusing their efforts on keeping costs low rather than increasing the price of bread, leaving this as a last resort.
Despite the increases in the price of raw materials, not all bakers were considering increasing the price of their products.
The cooperative will hold a meeting for its members, probably next week, to discuss ways to cut costs.
Mr Briffa said the meeting would focus on how the bakers could cooperate and, possibly, join forces to reduce expenses.
He said that while a large bakery could afford to absorb the increase because of higher production levels, smaller bakeries did not have this luxury and had almost no option but to pass on this cost to consumers, something they were reluctant to do since it made them uncompetitive.
The last time the price of bread rose was last year.
Since the market had been liberalised, the increases varied between 1c and 4c.
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X Borg
Aug 3rd 2012, 21:50
So the price of Wheat also goes down.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/24/us-usa-drought-idUSBRE86N1M120120724
Why do prices always go up when there is a spike in prices but never go down when the price eventually stabilises back to normal.
Henry S Pace
Aug 3rd 2012, 19:46
' Price of traditional loaf of bread is likely to rise '
If it is the true traditional bread let the price be changed. However , most bakers have done away with the
traditional maltese bread.
They are using a different type of yeast. In maltese we call it 'Hobz tal-franciz.
The reason is quite simple because the typical maltese yeast has been done away with.
Gone are the crusty maltese bread.
Louis Craus
Aug 3rd 2012, 15:38
Sejrin sewwa wkoll ta'. Kollox joghla, kullhadd jgholli, u qisu ma gara xejn. Povru kull min ma jistax ihallas, bhal dawk il- penzjonanti, u ohrajn bil- paga baxxa. Mhux sewwa. Mhux bizzejjed dejjem gejjin kontijiet gholjin, u daqqa jghola l- halib, haxix, frott etc etc. Imma kif qatt ma jorhos xejn. Imbaghad nisimghu hafna ftahir minn fuq it- TV, kemm ahna poplu li sejjer tajjeb, restauranti mimlijin, u bluff minn dan kollu.
Il Mexxejja ta dan il-Pajjiz, iridu jharsu mhux lejn min jista', lejn kemm hawn min isiefer, lejn min jiddeverti,imma lejn min, fis-skiet qed ibati ghax ma ghandux vuci. X' ma jkunx hawn minn jigri ghal l-ikel ta' l- Unjoni Ewropeja, meta jitqassam ! . Anke l- knisja ghandha titkellem meta tara din is-sitwazzjoni u mhux toqghod b'ideja fuq zaqqha qisu mhu jigri xejn, u meta jinqala xi haqa tipprova tara' kif ser tohrog ghonqha.
Mr leo attard
Aug 3rd 2012, 14:02
if fuel and flours prices have gone up, then the price of bread WILL , not likely, rise... and so will a hos t of other things
Victor Vella
Aug 3rd 2012, 13:16
Nispicaw nisirqu u nieklu l-xulxin lol. Viva GonziPN.
Charles Muscat
Aug 3rd 2012, 12:50
Don't eat bread it is fating anyway.
Claire Busuttil
Aug 3rd 2012, 11:21
prosit....komplu sejrin hekk!
fredu debono
Aug 3rd 2012, 11:08
jien mil-bierah bdejt nixtri halib ta barra. iservi aktar u orhos hdejn ta malta. issa jekk jerga joghla l-hobz, hekk naghmel. nara hawnx xi haga ta barra li tkun orhos u nixtri lilha. huma joghllu ghax ma jridux il-profitt jonqsilhom, mhux jitilfu ta, ghax dan hadd ma jaghmel xejn bit-telf, u jien ma rridx inzid fil-prezzijiet.
George Joseph Cauchi
Aug 3rd 2012, 10:58
This is very worrying especially for those on fixed incomes like pensioners and others on low wages.
Please choose the reason of your report below: