In August, bread could rise to as much as $ 400 per kilo

In the midst of the whirlwind of comments due to the uncertainty on the markets and the rise of the dollar in recent days, the kilo of bread is set to increase by around 10% and could go as high as $ 400 in the next few days, taking into account the increase recorded by the flour and the rest of the inputs needed to be processed.

Yesterday, the president of the Avellaneda Bakers Center, Gastón Mora, warned that there are groups of speculators who want to bring a kilo of bread to $ 400 amid the sharp rise in the dollar and that – in a single day – it has jumped by more than 20 dollars on the illegal market. He explained that the suppliers of flour, margarine and other basic supplies they do not deliver while waiting to define new prices.

“We see with great concern what is happening because of the economic issue, the dollar with a very important run, the speculation at the foot of the canyon and we in the middle trying to survive,” he said. In this context, according to the leader “there are many bakeries that unfortunately are forced to increase their prices ”. Then he pointed it out As of August, the price of a pound of bread would be $ 320 or $ 340.

According to the latest INDEC price survey, in June a kilo of French flute bread cost, in Greater Buenos Aires, $ 311.80 on average. Although, in different neighborhoods, the bread has different prices and there are already bakeries that sell it for $ 380 and $ 400 a kilo.

“The government needs to give signals to SMEs and national production, to those who are going through a bad period, to those who have not enough pockets because it becomes unsustainable. We need to stop looking at a class that constantly generates bullfights and speculation. We need immediate action on what is happening in the industry. not just in the bakery, but in the entire national industry, “she said.

In addition, the leader said: “We have talked to officials but to date we have not had any answers,” he concluded.

From the Bakery Industrial Federation of the province of Buenos Aires, they pointed out that the problem is that they do not receive flour at discounted prices, as provided for by the Government-sponsored Wheat Stabilizer Fund. So they have no choice: they will pass on the higher costs to the price of the product.

According to the agency, there are companies that still have stocks of this flour, but the problem will arise if there is no solution before next week because the mills are not delivering, the agency explained. Not all bakeries, on the other hand, receive subsidized flour.

It happens that the 25-pound (subsidized) sack of flour used by bakeries costs $ 1,346 plus tax, but without subsidies it costs $ 2,500. For this reason, a kilo of bread, which today is $ 300 or $ 320, can go as high as $ 340 if they get subsidized flour. But yes, they have to use the input without the official subsidy, the price of bread could go up to $ 400.

The increase will certainly be transferred to the bill since, according to the bakers, there are also higher costs in other inputs such as fats, sugar and margarines, among other elements used in these foods.

The Wheat Fund came into operation this year with the increase in withholding taxes on soybean meal and oil from 31 to 33% e they tried to raise about $ 400 million a year and offset the price of wheat flour that arrives at the bakeries. However, according to the bakers, the implementation of the fund has its drawbacks despite the management of the Secretariat of Commerce. The measure was adopted shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine was made known, which triggered the prices of commodities, such as wheat.