No price hike expected in bread in next few months

Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, Balcı said bread prices rose in the first quarter of 2008 due to an increase in input costs, especially in wheat prices. The target then was to fix bread prices at that level until the end of 2008, he said, adding that thanks to both measures taken and the sacrifice of bakers, bread prices had remained level, despite the price hikes seen in natural gas, electricity and wages during this period. The price of bread per kilogram currently stands at TL 2.5, Balcı stated. “Current figures indicate that a price hike in bread will not take place for a few months. I hope that in January, if there has been a rise in input costs, we will not have to make a cost analysis [to adjust the bread prices].”

Balcı said that even though they have been working to prevent the waste of bread since 2003, bread conservation is still not at satisfactory levels. “Every day, 82 million loaves of bread are produced in Turkey, while daily bread consumption is only 77 million. Almost 5 million loaves of bread go to waste every day,” he said, adding that their aim is to decrease this level to at most 2 million.