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Bread prices to be reduced within a week – bakers
Minister Prashad (second from left) with some of the business persons he met yesterday.
Bakers in Guyana have said that the consuming public would not immediately feel the price reduction in flour. The price of bread and other bread-related products will remain unchanged until the coming week.
Chief Executive Officer of Bakewell, Naeem Nazir, told Kaieteur News yesterday that bakers will reduce the prices in their own time, as they were informed about the reduction of flour only through the media.
Nazir explained that the National Milling Company (NAMILCO) did not inform bakers of the 17 percent decrease in the price for flour, bakers learnt of it only via the television newscasts on Tuesday evening.
He noted that the reason consumers would not be able to immediately feel the benefits of the reduction is due to the fact that bakers buy flour in bulk.
It would not be fair to reduce the prices for bread and other flour-related products instantly, as it would result in some bakers not being able to make a profit.
According to Nazir, a lot of logistical changes have to be made now that the price for flour has been reduced.
He cannot say at what price bread would be sold, as there are a lot of calculations involved, but he assured that the price would be reduced.
Meanwhile, the bakers met with Commerce Minister Manniram Prashad yesterday when the issue was discussed. At the end of the meeting, the bakers and the minister were still unable to reach an agreement on when consumers would begin to enjoy the benefits of the reduced price.
“At this point, in fairness to the bakers, I cannot say exactly by what percentage and the exact price that bread would be sold for; but, in principle, they (bakers) also welcomed the reduction in flour price.
The price of bread products will be reduced. I cannot say to what level it would come down, as different bakeries have various price ranges and weight,” Minister Prashad told reporters.
The minister is claiming that, before the end of the week, an announcement will be made on what the price for bread will be; but the bakers are saying that it is too soon to make such an announcement. They say that they still have stocks of flour on hand.
Minister Prashad is hoping that with the constant fall in the price for wheat on the world market, NAMILCO will even announce a further reduction in the price for flour.
On Tuesday, the National Milling Company of Guyana, (NAMILCO) announced that the price for flour will be reduced by an overall 17 percent on 45-kg bags, and that there will be consequential reduction in the price of packets of flour. This reduction took effect yesterday.
It was explained that the decreased percentage is calculated using the increased prices as at May 5, 2008 versus the new prices, which means that most bakers will benefit from a $1,280 reduction per bag of flour.
Consumers are also benefiting from a reduction of $20 per kg on Thunderbolt packet flour. The wholesale price for a bag of Thunderbolt flour will now be $6,175, while the retail price will be $6,220.
Earlier in the year, the prices were $7,390 and $7,500 respectively. From today, a 1 kg packet of Thunderbolt flour will decrease from $185 to $165. (Fareeza Haniff).
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