Bread price hike coming
published: Wednesday | February 2, 2005

Robert Lalah, Staff Reporter

CONSUMERS SHOULD brace themselves for an increase in the price of bread. Clarence Chin, president of the Bakers Association of Jamaica (BAJ) told The Gleaner yesterday, that the increase, which will be between seven and ten per cent, will come in the next two weeks.

Mr. Chin said the planned increase has come out of necessity. He cited rising costs of a number of baking related materials, as the catapult for the impending increase in the price of bread.

INCREASES

"We are looking at an increase in the cost of fuel of about 30 per cent. Electricity has gone up by over 30 per cent, the cost of bags has increased by over 15 per cent. What has capped all of this though, is an increase in the price of flour," he said.

The BAJ head added that the impending price increase will not result in rising profits for the bakers. "The bakers will not see greater profits. It will only enable them to survive. If they do not raise the price of bread then they will simply get knocked out," he said.

Mr. Chin noted that individual baking companies will determine how much they will raise the prices of their own products; however he expected the average increase to be about 9 per cent. "I run the Golden Crust Bakery and we will be looking at an increase of about 8 to 9 per cent. Anything less would not cover our expenses," he said.

CAC UNAWARE

Pash Fuller, western division director at the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC), told The Gleaner yesterday that he was unaware of the bakers' intention to raise the price of bread. He, however, was confident that the bakers will act responsibly.

"We generally have found over the years that the bakers are responsible people, and they would not be looking to raise the price of bread unless there was a justifiable reason to do so," he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Chin pleaded for the cooperation of the public. "I am just asking the public to be understanding. We know that they are feeling the pressure and so are we. We usually hold back as best we can, but we must do this in order to stay in business," he said.