The proposals of the Bakery Owners Association are being studied by the technicians of the Ministry of Commerce. It mainly concerns an increase of Rs 1.50 on 100 grams of bread, i.e. the breads qualified as Scheduled Breads. It will also affect the ‘Pain de Luxe’ qualified breads. This increase follows the various hikes in diesel prices as well as input prices since 2012.
No decision from the Ministry
No decision has been made yet. The Ministry of Commerce and Consumer Protection has indicated that only proposals and interpretations have been only heard. The Ministry’s technicians will have to make their own calculations and interpretations of the situations presented and study the various proposals put forward. The last meeting between the Association of Bakery Owners and the Ministry of Trade and Consumer Protection took place on Thursday 10 March. The Ministry concerned is expected to make its decision public in the coming days.
Rs 1.50 per 100 grams explained
The price of bread has remained unchanged since 2012 but bakeries have been receiving subsidies from the government. This time, the increase will be passed on directly to consumers. Nasser Moraby says that all professionals in the sector are eagerly awaiting this price increase to ‘put water in their mills’. “We have updated the last costing presented in 2018. Since 2018, we have benefited by 20 cents, or 10 cents on a loaf of bread in two instalments on a calculation of Rs 31 on a 25 kg bag of flour. But with the increases in inputs i.e. salt, yeast and improvers and the recent increases in the price of diesel which we use in both manufacturing and distribution, this subsidy is no longer helping us sustain the business. So, our calculation for Rs1.50 on 100 grams of bread is largely justified,” he says. The proposal also includes the costing of labour since 2012, which is a 10-year compensation. If the proposal is accepted, the ‘Pain maison’ and ‘Pain Rond’ will be allowed to go up to Rs 4.10, 200-gram baguette will cost Rs 3.00 more, i.e. from Rs 5.40 to Rs 8.40 if the proposal is accepted, and 400-gram baguette will cost Rs 6.00 more, i.e. from Rs 10.80 to Rs 16.80. The price of luxury breads will increase on the same pattern!
An abusive 58% rise!
Jayen Chellum, general secretary for the Association des Consommateurs feels that this hike will turn the bread harder to bite! “When we calculate Rs1.50 on Rs2.60 per 100, this results in a 58% increase. It is too exaggerated and abusive. The calculation should be more thorough, so it should be redone. It should be taken into account that when the price of fuel, in this case diesel, had gone down, the consumer continued to buy bread at the same price of Rs 2.60. The consumer cannot pay for a Scheduled Bread at these prices. Then there is the price of ‘Pain de Luxe’ qualified which will automatically increase. The Ministry is called upon to make these proposals public, collect the different opinions of the associations and the general public before deciding!” says general secretary for the Association des Consommateurs.
