Loaf bread, pan de sal prices to go up next week

MANILA, Philippines - The price of loaf bread will go up by P1 to P1.50 next week amid rising cost of flour, the Philippine Baking Industry Group (Philbaking) said yesterday.

At the same time, pan de sal prices will rise by P0.50 to P0.75. The price of Pinoy Tasty on the other hand, will remain at P39 per loaf.

Meanwhile, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said sugar prices have gone down to P48 per kilo from a high of P65 per kilo.

In a telephone interview, Philbaking president Walter Co said that the cost of flour has been going up. Co said as per their calculations, flour prices should only be at P800 per bag. However, they have been buying their flour for P930 to P950 per bag.

This is the second time bread prices have gone up in recent months. Co said that aside from the flour prices, other costs of production have also gone up. He cited shortening, oil and labor costs. At the same time, electricity cost has also been going up.

Although they were able to maintain their subsidy for the Pinoy Tasty and hold off any price increases, Co warned that another round of price increases for flour will result in the adjustment in the price of Pinoy Tasty prices. “Another increase of prices by the millers will force us to also increase the price of Pinoy Tasty,” Co said.

The Pinoy Tasty is a cheaper alternative for branded breads. It is being sold under different brands and uses fewer ingredients than branded bread.

Co said more than 10 percent of loaf bread sold in the market are already Pinoy Tasty. As of May, they are already producing 650,000 loaves of Pinoy Tasty per month.

In a radio interview over RMN yesterday morning, DTI undersecretary for consumer welfare Zenaida C. Maglaya said that bakers have already advised them that the price of loaf bread will go up because of flour prices. Maglaya explained that 70 percent to 80 percent of bread is flour.

At the same radio interview, Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo said that the price of sugar has significantly gone down to P48 per kilo from a high of P65 per kilo. Domingo said the reason for this is the good harvest of farmers which allowed the Sugar Regulatory Authority (SRA) to exceed their projected output.s