Bread, flour prices to go up

MANILA, Philippines - The public should brace for higher bread prices starting next month as the price of flour is expected to go up by P20 per bag.

The executive order scrapping the three percent tariff on wheat will expire on July 14 and an industry source said Malacañang is not keen on an extension.

Bakers, complaining that flour prices are high, already increased the price of loaf bread by P1.

In a statement released yesterday, the Philippine Baking Industry Group Inc. (PhilBaking), Filipino-Chinese Bakeries Association Inc. (FCBAI) and Federation of Bakers Association Inc. (PFBAI) stressed the need to raise the price of their branded loaf bread due to the P40-P50 increase per 25 kilos of locally milled flour.

The price of Gardenia and Uncle George loaf bread already increased, while Marby and Creative Bakers said they would be adding P1 to the price of their white loaf. Community bakers also imposed a P1 increase in their loaf bread.

Bakers belonging to PhilBaking said they would not raise the price of pan de sal while community bakers said they would just adjust its size to cope with flour price increases.

Bakers meanwhile said the price of Pinoy Tasty loaf bread would stay at P39 as part of their social effort to make bread products accessible to the Filipino masses.

They said Pinoy Tasty would continue to be sold at a subsidized cost. They also plan to import flour from Asian countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, where the cost is lower compared to flour sold by local millers.

Local bakers are also expecting a significant reduction in flour prices in the coming months, citing data from the US Wheat Associates, which said wheat prices are going down. Wheat prices are pegged at $476 per metric ton, already a 10 percent decrease from its February 2011 price of $526 per MT.

NO SRP for chicken

The Department of Agriculture (DA) meanwhile said it will not impose a suggested retail price (SRP) on chicken following recent price increases.

In a press conference following an emergency meeting among chicken industry stakeholders and DA officials led by Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, the DA chief assured the public there is no shortfall in supply.

The increase in chicken prices was due to a shift in consumer demand from fish to chicken after the fishkills in Laguna de Bay, Batangas and Pangasinan, it was revealed during the meeting.

Chicken industry stakeholders also disputed reports that the rise in chicken prices is due to a shortfall in supply, saying that there is adequate supply even up to the end of the year, including the holidays when demand is high.

They added reports of a supply shortfall would benefit only the importers who are hoping to convince the DA to allow the special importation of chicken on top of the allowed Minimum Access Volume (MAV) chicken importation.

A representative from Universal Robina Corp. said there is an abundant supply of live chicks, which in 30 days, would result in excess supply of chicken and a decline in prices.

Imposing a chicken SRP at this time may only cause more harm especially if prices go below the SRP, United Broilers and Raisers Association (UBRA) vice president Elias Jose Inciong added.

Chicken prices hit P140 per kilogram from the SRP prices set in September last year of P100 per/kg for unbranded chicken and P110/kg for branded chicken.