Bread prices soar amid soaring cost of flour
Monday, 11 February 2008
Mahmuda Shaolin
The prices of bread and bakery items shot up by 30 per cent since late last year amid soaring cost of wheat, edible oil and powdered milk in the local market, bakers said Sunday.
The city's top bakery houses said the price of a standard 800 gram bread rose to Tk 52, up from an average Tk 40 since last December while prices of biscuits also increased by 30-50 per cent.
"We had to increase our bread prices because we are now buying a sack of flour at Tk 3000, which was Tk 2200 even in December," said Mohammad Jalaluddin, the president of the Bangladesh Bakery Association.
"Almost everyone has increased their bread and biscuits by at least 30-50 per cent in the last couple of months," he said.
"Flour price was only Tk 1100 even in December 2006. The price of edible oil increased by Tk 100 per maund ( 40 kg) in the last two days," said Mohammad Ibrahim, the owner of Yusuf Bakery.
The price of toast, the top selling biscuit in the country, rose to Tk 55 per half kilogram packet, which was Tk 32 even three months ago, said a salesman of Momtaj Bakery.
According to the bakery association, there are around 5000 small and big bakeries in the country, around half of them catering to the needs of the capital Dhaka.
The bakeries, most of which are run by hand-pressed machines, employ some 250,000 people, the association said.
In the international market, wheat price almost doubled last year because of poor harvest in the main producers such as Australia, Canada and the United States.
The prices of edible oil and powdered milk also grew by at least 80 per cent in the international last year.
Bakeries said their sales have declined by at least 50 per cent over the last quarter because of the price hike of their items.
"We have cut down our bread production significantly because of poor sales. The consumers would rather prepare bread at home, rather buying the pricy ones that we produce," said Jahir Uddin, the manger of Olympic Bread and Bakery.
Some small bakeries even stopped producing bread altogether because of the price hike of raw materials, said Jalal Uddin.
He said the prices would see another round of hike in the next few weeks as the import price of raw materials saw further growth in the past one week.
The prices of bread and bakery items shot up by 30 per cent since late last year amid soaring cost of wheat, edible oil and powdered milk in the local market, bakers said Sunday.
The city's top bakery houses said the price of a standard 800 gram bread rose to Tk 52, up from an average Tk 40 since last December while prices of biscuits also increased by 30-50 per cent.
"We had to increase our bread prices because we are now buying a sack of flour at Tk 3000, which was Tk 2200 even in December," said Mohammad Jalaluddin, the president of the Bangladesh Bakery Association.
"Almost everyone has increased their bread and biscuits by at least 30-50 per cent in the last couple of months," he said.
"Flour price was only Tk 1100 even in December 2006. The price of edible oil increased by Tk 100 per maund ( 40 kg) in the last two days," said Mohammad Ibrahim, the owner of Yusuf Bakery.
The price of toast, the top selling biscuit in the country, rose to Tk 55 per half kilogram packet, which was Tk 32 even three months ago, said a salesman of Momtaj Bakery.
According to the bakery association, there are around 5000 small and big bakeries in the country, around half of them catering to the needs of the capital Dhaka.
The bakeries, most of which are run by hand-pressed machines, employ some 250,000 people, the association said.
In the international market, wheat price almost doubled last year because of poor harvest in the main producers such as Australia, Canada and the United States.
The prices of edible oil and powdered milk also grew by at least 80 per cent in the international last year.
Bakeries said their sales have declined by at least 50 per cent over the last quarter because of the price hike of their items.
"We have cut down our bread production significantly because of poor sales. The consumers would rather prepare bread at home, rather buying the pricy ones that we produce," said Jahir Uddin, the manger of Olympic Bread and Bakery.
Some small bakeries even stopped producing bread altogether because of the price hike of raw materials, said Jalal Uddin.
He said the prices would see another round of hike in the next few weeks as the import price of raw materials saw further growth in the past one week.