Bakery items still dearer despite fall in flour prices
Sunday, 21 December 2008
Jasim Uddin Haroon
Bread, biscuit and other confectionery items still remain dearer despite the fall in the prices of wheat, flour and sugar in the local and international markets.
Sources said wheat prices plunged by 50 per cent both in local and international markets in recent weeks.
On Saturday, the wholesale prices of flour were selling at Tk 1400 per maund (37.5 kilograms) against Tk2800 at the city's Moulvibazar market. Wheat prices are now in the range between Tk 520 and Tk 550 a maund in the wholesale market against around Tk1000.
But this has no impact on retail market and at the city's more than 10,000 bakeries and confectionaries, which continued to sell their products at the higher rate.
Apart from this, the country's over 100 auto bread and biscuit manufacturers are also selling the bakery items at higher prices.
Md Shafiur Rahman, president of Bangladesh Auto Bread and Biscuit Manufacturers Association, told the FE that they had been taking higher prices for the confectionery items as they had incurred losses earlier.
"We are now narrowing down the losses which we had incurred by purchasing wheat at higher prices," he said.
The prices of confectionery items rose by over 30 per cent when the prices of the wheat reached their peak early this year.
Mr Shafiq, who is also managing director of Milton Biscuit and Bread Factories Limited, said the prices of the items might reduce significantly after December 29 national polls.
"We will again sit with the NBR and other government agencies after the parliamentary polls to review the prices," Mr Shafiq added.
City's top bakeries like Olympia, Mamtaz, Haq, Orient and Capital are still selling 800 gram loaf at Tk 60, which was Tk 40-45 early in the year.
"We are selling biscuit at Tk 150 per kilogram and 400 gram bread at Tk 30 and 800 gram bread at Tk 60," said a salesman at Olympia Bakery at city's Baitul Mukarram market.
Jalal Uddin Ahmed, president of Bangladesh Biscuit, Bread and Confectionery Manufacturers Association, a group of 4500 bakers who produce the items manually, defended the high prices of bread and bakery items.
"We use super quality expensive flour. The auto bread producers should reduce first," Jalal, a director of city's leading Capital Bakery, said.
Abdur Razzak, president of Moulvibazar Wholesale Traders Association, rejected the bakeries' argument for high bread prices, saying the rates of every kind of flour has also significantly come down over the last three months.
Bread, biscuit and other confectionery items still remain dearer despite the fall in the prices of wheat, flour and sugar in the local and international markets.
Sources said wheat prices plunged by 50 per cent both in local and international markets in recent weeks.
On Saturday, the wholesale prices of flour were selling at Tk 1400 per maund (37.5 kilograms) against Tk2800 at the city's Moulvibazar market. Wheat prices are now in the range between Tk 520 and Tk 550 a maund in the wholesale market against around Tk1000.
But this has no impact on retail market and at the city's more than 10,000 bakeries and confectionaries, which continued to sell their products at the higher rate.
Apart from this, the country's over 100 auto bread and biscuit manufacturers are also selling the bakery items at higher prices.
Md Shafiur Rahman, president of Bangladesh Auto Bread and Biscuit Manufacturers Association, told the FE that they had been taking higher prices for the confectionery items as they had incurred losses earlier.
"We are now narrowing down the losses which we had incurred by purchasing wheat at higher prices," he said.
The prices of confectionery items rose by over 30 per cent when the prices of the wheat reached their peak early this year.
Mr Shafiq, who is also managing director of Milton Biscuit and Bread Factories Limited, said the prices of the items might reduce significantly after December 29 national polls.
"We will again sit with the NBR and other government agencies after the parliamentary polls to review the prices," Mr Shafiq added.
City's top bakeries like Olympia, Mamtaz, Haq, Orient and Capital are still selling 800 gram loaf at Tk 60, which was Tk 40-45 early in the year.
"We are selling biscuit at Tk 150 per kilogram and 400 gram bread at Tk 30 and 800 gram bread at Tk 60," said a salesman at Olympia Bakery at city's Baitul Mukarram market.
Jalal Uddin Ahmed, president of Bangladesh Biscuit, Bread and Confectionery Manufacturers Association, a group of 4500 bakers who produce the items manually, defended the high prices of bread and bakery items.
"We use super quality expensive flour. The auto bread producers should reduce first," Jalal, a director of city's leading Capital Bakery, said.
Abdur Razzak, president of Moulvibazar Wholesale Traders Association, rejected the bakeries' argument for high bread prices, saying the rates of every kind of flour has also significantly come down over the last three months.