Budget breads, which are a staple food for many Filipino families, are now seldom seen in groceries and supermarkets, a group of bakers said Monday.
Henry Ah of the Filipino-Chinese Bakers Association Inc. (FCBAI) said store inventory of budget breads seems to be low as there is not enough supply.
“I heard many consumers are looking for Pinoy Pandesal and Pinoy Tasty but some are not able to buy since the product, sometimes, is not available,” he said in a pre-event briefing on the upcoming Bakery Fair on March 2 to 4, 2022 at the World Trade Center.
He said the high prices of sugar, flour and other raw materials for baking made it difficult for bakers to adjust to inflation.
The recent P2 bread hike allowed by the Department of Trade and Industry under the new Suggested Retail Price (SRP) Bulletin is not enough to make up for the increase in manufacturing cost, said Ah.
“But it’s better than nothing. Malaking bagay din sa amin ‘yun (It’s a big deal for us),” he added.
Bakers who are signatory to the agreement with the DTI to produce and sell affordable breads to consumers said their petition was for a P4 adjustment.
“Let us not count logistics or fuel costs. Just allow us to recover our cost on major ingredients,” Ah said.
Based on the new SRP bulletin published on February 8, 2023, the retail price of budget breads Pinoy Tasty and Pinoy pandesal went up by P2 per to P40.50 per loaf and P1.50 to P25 per plastic pack of pandesal.
Meanwhile, Philippine Baking Institute (Philbaking) president Jerry Lao said his group will continue to fight for the balance of P2 increase in budget bread prices.
“Actually, the P2 adjustment was not enough. It may cover sugar and flour, but we still subsidize for the rest of the ingredients and manufacturing costs,” he said.