Pan de sal, loaf bread prices set to go up

MANILA, Philippines -  The government sees the cost of pan de sal, loaf bread and other bread products going up due to the unstable price of wheat.

In an interview at Sofitel Hotel Monday night, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo said the unstable supply of wheat has a negative impact on prices.

“The bakers are trying to cooperate that is why the price of Pinoy Tasty will hold steady for a while,” he said.

Meanwhile, Domingo said they are already looking for ways to decrease the price of sugar.

Prices are at a high of P58 per kilo in spite of oversupply, he added.

Domingo said the gap between the mill gate price and the retail price is steep.

They are already looking at ways on how to lessen the discrepancy, he added.

Domingo said he has asked his people to look into the computation that would determine the retail price versus the mill gate price.

Sugar is retailed at P54 to P58 per kilo, he added.

However, Domingo said there is no need to import sugar because local farmers have already overproduced.

“They (sugar producers) exceeded the initial estimate,” he said.

“There is no need to import because of over-production.”

The projected production was only at 1.97 million metric tons but the production is now at 2.1 million metric tons, he added.

Agriculture Undersecretary Salvador Salacup said the price of sugar is now are at P56 to P58 (per kilo), way below the P68 (per kilo) levels two months ago.

 “We are now experiencing La Niña,” he said.

“During El Niño the demand was high. It was evident in the softdrinks and juices consumption.”

As for wheat, Domingo said most farmers worldwide decided to switch to corn and other products, resulting in lower supply of the commodity and drove prices up.

Wheat is turned into flour, the major ingredient in bread, he added.

Flour prices are already at P940 per bag, Domingo said.

Bakers urged yesterday the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to look into the high flour prices because freight and foreign exchange costs have already gone down.

Walter Co, Philippine Baking Industry Group president, said flour millers are selling at P920 per bag, which was the price during 2008.

“Why are they selling at 2008 level,” he asked.

Co said wheat prices in the world market are the same as 2008 levels but the other costs have gone down like foreign exchange because the peso continues to strengthen.

Freight costs have likewise decreased by 40 percent, he added.

They have already submitted their computation to the DTI last April, Co said.