Loaf bread, pan de sal prices to go down next week

The price of loaf bread is expected to go down by P1 next week while pan de sal will be P0.50 less, bakers said yesterday.

Last month, bakers cut the price of pan de sal by P0.25 for a ten-piece pack and loaf bread by P0.50 per 600 grams.

Simplicio Umali Jr., president of the Philippine Baking Industry Group Inc., earlier hinted that they will implement another round of price cuts before Christmas.

Umali has been urging flour millers to further lower the price of wheat. When asked by how much the flour is overpriced, Umali said prices should go down by more than P17.

“We do not calculate anymore because we just end up frustrated. They (local flour millers) don’t follow global trends,” Umali said.

However, the Philippine Association of Flour Millers (Pafmil) said they can no longer reduce the price of flour.

Pafmil executive director Ric Pinca said they have already cut their prices and it is now the turn of bakers to pass on the benefits of the rollback to consumers.

“Loaf bread should not be sold for more than P50. They need to be fair because right now the capital needed to produce a 600-gram loaf is only P35,” Pinca explained.

Meanwhile, the government is selling loaf bread at P40, around P10 less than commercial bread sold in stores and supermarkets.

According to Pinca, these will be available for the whole month of December at all Tinapay ng Bayan outlets nationwide. He said flour millers are located all over the country so there is no problem with distribution.

“We already spoke to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). They are the ones who will determine where to sell the bread and how many loaves to sell,” Pinca said.

He said they can supply as much bread as the government needs.

“Production will really depend on their order,” he said.

When asked if there is a possibility to make the cheaper bread available the whole year round, Pinca said this would depend on the government.

“We are ready to supply the bread. They just have to tell us,” he said.

Pinca said they have already entered into an agreement with a big baker from Central Luzon to produce the low-cost breads. “We will supply them with flour and they are charging us P1,650 per bag. Including the trucking cost, the bread costs us P35 and we will give them the bread for that price only,” he explained further.