L’Association des propriétaires de boulangeries is not ruling out a possible considerable increase in the price of bread with the recent increases in inputs, fuel and the devaluation of the rupee. But especially if the bakers no longer receive the necessary subsidies from the government on flour. They will present their estimates to the Ministry of Commerce and request a meeting with the Prime Minister.
The association was in front of the press on Wednesday afternoon to enumerate, during this general assembly, the persistent problems of bakers. Nazir Hosany complained about “the poor quality of flour that bakers are forced to use and the use of additives in this basic product such as yeast, salt, oil that have increased over time since January 2021. Now there is the increase in the price of diesel, which forces us to ask for a revision of the price of bread officially,” he says.
Nazir Hosany is calling for an increase in the price of bread, which has not been increased for the past ten years. “Bread has not been revised since 2012. The price remains capped, and the quality of the flour is deplorable. If this monumental subsidy is removed the price of bread at Rs 2.60 could go up to Rs 5 or close to it. It is all the cumulative increases that demand this hike. It is the government that will decide this fate for the consumer,” he said.
This member of the association also spoke about the labour force, which is mostly Bangladeshi, unstable and can “run away”. He asked for government support for the professionalisation of the trade with the creation of a bakery school in order to have a local workforce to take over.
He recalled that the motivation of bakeries is to offer good hot bread to their customers and not an inconsistent bread at a hot price.
