Egypt's Minister of Supply, Shreef Farouk, has requested representatives from the baking sector to give him until the beginning of next week to monitor the trends of free market flour prices. This decision comes as the cost of production for tourist and fine bread has increased due to rising flour prices. The minister made this request during a meeting with representatives from the milling and baking sectors.
The meeting was held to discuss the current state of the milling and bread production industries, as well as the cost of producing tourist and fine bread. According to a source who attended the meeting, the representatives from the milling sector presented the current market situation for wheat and flour, highlighting the recent increases in shipping and logistical costs. They also discussed the impact of global wheat price increases on the local market.
The source revealed that the price of imported wheat has reached record levels, ranging from 16.6 to 16.8 thousand pounds per ton for Ukrainian wheat and 17 thousand pounds per ton for Russian wheat. This is a significant increase from June's prices of 12.2 and 12.5 thousand pounds per ton. As a result, the price of flour has risen to around 21 thousand pounds per ton, up from 17 thousand pounds in June.
The baking sector relies heavily on the free market to supply its flour needs, which accounts for over 50% of production costs. The sector has been facing significant losses due to increased transportation costs and other operational expenses. The representatives from the baking sector requested that the Ministry of Supply reconsider the prices of tourist and fine bread, suggesting a 15% increase.
However, the Ministry of Supply has not yet made a decision on the proposed price increase. Instead, they have decided to wait until Sunday to assess the flour market and determine the new production costs. The ministry will then re-evaluate the prices of tourist and fine bread based on the new costs.
This development comes after repeated requests from the baking sector to increase the prices of tourist and fine bread, which intensified in August due to rising flour and production costs. In August, the Ministry of Supply issued a directive to maintain the current prices and weights of tourist and fine bread, which were set in March.
The current prices of tourist bread are set at 2 pounds for an 80-gram loaf, 1.5 pounds for a 60-gram loaf, and 1 pound for a 40-gram loaf. The prices of fine bread are set at 2 pounds for a 50-gram loaf, 1.5 pounds for a 40-gram loaf, and 1 pound for a 30-gram loaf. The Ministry of Supply has warned that any bakeries that fail to comply with the directive will face legal consequences.
Key points
- The Ministry of Supply will monitor flour prices until Sunday before making a decision on increasing the prices of tourist and fine bread.
