Bakers’ group asks gov’t for hike in bread prices

LOOKING FOR RELIEF | A baker prepares bread in Dapitan, Manila, as the industry asks for relief from rising prices. (Photo by MARIANNE BERMUDEZ / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines — Local bakers are hopeful that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will heed their request for a P4 increase in the price of two bread products due to the rising cost of raw materials.

They expect the price adjustment to be reflected in the latest list of suggested retail prices (SRP) which the DTI is expected to release anytime this week.

Philippine Baking Industry Group (PhilBaking) president Jerry Lao said on Wednesday that they met with the DTI last week about their request for a P4-price hike for Pinoy Tasty and Pinoy Pandesal.

“With regard to our request for price increase, we are still waiting for [the] SRP bulletin for this coming Christmas. We hope our request will be granted,” Lao told the Inquirer, adding that the DTI had assured them that it would be included in the next SRP list.

He said that due to rising production costs, there was no more incentive for them to keep on making the two bread products.

Trade Undersecretary Ruth Castelo, head of DTI’s consumer protection group, did not respond when sought for comment by the Inquirer.

Lao said that for every P40 increase in the price of flour, they have determined that there should be a corresponding P1 hike in the price of Pinoy Tasty.

P1,050 per bag of flour

“From P650 per bag of flour, [the price has] increased to P1,050 per bag, [or an additional] P400. When we apply our formula, [the price of] Pinoy Tasty should [go up by] P10 per loaf,” he said.

Lao said they had assured the DTI that they would use the same formula in reducing bread prices should the cost of flour go down.

Pinoy Tasty and Pinoy Pandesal are brands manufactured through a joint initiative between the DTI and a bakers group to produce affordable bread for the public. The bakers’ group includes makers of popular brands like Gardenia, French Baker, Marby, Uncle George’s, and Tiffany’s.

Pinoy Tasty sells at P38.50 per 450 gram pack while Pinoy Pandesal is priced at P23.50 for a pack of 10 pieces.

Lucito Chavez, president of the Asosasyon ng Panaderong Pilipino (Association of Filipino Bakers), meanwhile, told the Inquirer that small, community bakeries were suffering due to the high prices of raw materials used in making bread.

“The community bakery industry is nearly dying. It is very near its death [due to] the high cost of sugar and other raw materials, the low sales conversion. The alkansiya (piggy bank) of the small-time baker has already been broken open,” Chavez told the Inquirer in a phone interview.

Community bakers

He expressed his support to raise the prices of Pinoy Tasty and Pinoy Pandesal, saying these products were being used as barometers for the price of bread produced by small-time bakers like him.

“It affects the price expectations for bread being sold by us, community bakers. My prayer is that they increase the price. We were asking for it way back in December (of last year). The customers are complaining and asking why Pinoy pandesal is cheaper than our pandesal,” he said.“If your small store is … beside another store which sells Pinoy Pandesal and Pinoy Tasty, consider yours already dead because your bread is more expensive,” he added.

Based on his estimates, there are about 50,000 small-time community bakeries nationwide. Although unsure about the number of people employed in the industry, he said that he has seen up to six people working in one community bakery.

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