Home | News | TOUGH TIMES AS BREAD TO COST UP TO E16.73 FROM TOMORROW

TOUGH TIMES AS BREAD TO COST UP TO E16.73 FROM TOMORROW

12/07/2022 08:42:00 Stanley Khumalo

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MANZINI – As of tomorrow, a loaf of brown bread, weighing 700 grammes, will cost E13.68.

This is a E2.35 increase from the current maximum price of a 700g loaf of brown bread, which is subsequent to the 20.76 per cent hike, which was reported by this publication last Wednesday and yesterday pronounced by the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade, Manqoba Khumalo. An individual buying a loaf of brown bread daily, will now spend E70.50 more per month. As the cost of a 700g loaf of brown bread has been hiked from E11.33 to E13.68, it shall now require a monthly budget of E410.40 which has escalated from E339.90, by E70.50 per month.

Conditions

The escalating cost, as announced by Khumalo, was brought about by the prevailing economic conditions that have prompted an upward shift in the prices of raw materials used in bread production. The minister said major producers of wheat had taken a decision not to export their produce, thus making wheat a scarce and costly commodity globally. “The increase is envisaged at keeping the bread industry at sustainable profitability levels,” Khumalo said.

Approved

The minister said Cabinet had approved the increase of both brown and white bread prices by 20.76 per cent with effect from tomorrow (July 13, 2022). This effectively means that a loaf of white bread weighing 800g shall now have a maximum retail price of E16.73 which is a E2.88 hike from the current price of E13.85. Also, a loaf of brown bread weighing 800g shall now retail at E14.58 as it shall increase by E2.51 as it is currently sold at E12.07. Meanwhile, a loaf of white bread weighing 600g will cease retailing at E11.45 and now be sold at E13.82, while a brown loaf of the same weight shall increase from E9.95 to E12.02. Also, a loaf of white bread weighing 500g shall now be sold at E12.72, as it will increase from E10.53 while a brown loaf of similar weight will increase from E9.15 to E11.05. The lowest weighing loaf of white bread (400g) will now retail at E7.91, as it will increase from E6.55, while a brown loaf of a similar weight shall now have a maximum cost of E7.08 as it will increase from E5.86.

On the other hand, wholesale prices have also been increased with the same percentage such that an 800g of a white loaf of bread has hiked by E2.81 from E13.52 to E16.33. The same weighing brown bread will now have a wholesale price of E14.17, which is E2.44 higher than E11.73 which shall cease to be charged as of today. The wholesale price of a 700g white loaf of bread will now be E14.87, which is an increment of E2.56 from the current price E12.31, while a similarly sized brown bread shall be hiked by E2.28 from a maximum of E10.98 to E13.26.

Also, the maximum wholesale price of a white loaf of bread weighing 600g shall be increased from E11.10 as it was hiked by E2.30 to E13.40. A similarly weighing brown loaf of bread shall now have a maximum wholesale price of E11.59, which is an increment of E1.99 from the current E9.60. Furthermore, the maximum wholesale price of 500g white loaf shall escalate by E2.11 from E10.18 to E12.29 while a similarly weighing loaf of bread shall now have a maximum wholesale price of E10.63 as it will increase by E1.83 from E8.80.
Lastly, the lowest weighing loaf of white bread (400g) shall now have a maximum wholesale price of E7.70 as it shall increase by E1.32 from E6.38. On the other hand, a similarly weighing loaf of brown bread shall now have a maximum wholesale price of E6.87 as it is increased by E1.18 from E5.69. It is worth noting that this is the second bread price increment in a space of four months, following the six per cent hike which was effected on April 1, 2022.

Ingredient

It is worth noting that there has been a large threat to the bakery industry given the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. This is because since the war started, the prices of wheat, which is the core ingredient in the recipe for flour used to bake bread, surged by 40 per cent. The country imports about 46 000 tonnes of wheat annually, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations (UN). FAO is a specialised agency of the UN that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Eswatini does not produce wheat but solely relies on imports. Since Russia invaded Ukraine and the United States of America (USA) and Europe imposed sweeping sanctions on the former, prices globally have increased with a high margin. This is because Russia and Ukraine are also major suppliers of corn, barley and sunflower oil.