Friday, March 29, 2024

Expense of baking bread goes up: GOB regulates price

Share

As inflation continues to affect the country, the cost of another essential staple, the sliced pack bread, is going up. In San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye, a loaf of regular bread is currently $3, and the wheat bread is around $4.50, depending on the vendor. Bakers have reportedly been asking the government to increase the price because they are operating at a loss. However, the government’s Supplies and Control Unit informs that the 16-ounce pack of bread is subject to price control, and the cost should not increase. At the same time, the Unit indicated that there had been no increase in the price of flour yet.

In San Pedro, some packs of sliced bread usually exceed 16 ounces in weight, excluding them from the price-controlled items. However, the price has reportedly increased. The Supplies and Control Unit told the media that flour prices have not increased. There is a request to raise flour prices by 10%, but this must be approved by Cabinet before anything is official on this essential product.

The Controller of Supplies of the Supply and Control Unit, Lennox Nicholson, shared that if the product’s purchase cost (flour) has not changed as yet, there is no justification to take up the retail price at this time. But the fact is that other elements involved in the production of bread have seen cost increases. Nicholson mentioned increases in the cost of items like cooking material, packaging, fuel such as liquid petroleum gas, and the distribution that requires fossil fuels all impact the final product.

The government finds it illegal to raise prices on price-controlled items without its authorization and advises the public to report any establishment engaged in price gouging. As a result, the Supplies and Control Unit is planning to increase its presence in the market for monitoring.

In the meantime, a Cabinet paper will be put together regarding this matter, and hopefully, it can be addressed at the next House Sitting in the National Assembly. A decision should be taken on how the country moves regarding the increase in costs of price-controlled food items.

Read more

 

Please help support Local Journalism in Belize

For the first time in the history of the island's community newspaper, The San Pedro Sun is appealing to their thousands of readers to help support the paper during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 1991 we have tirelessly provided vital local and national news. Now, more than ever, our community depends on us for trustworthy reporting, but our hard work comes with a cost. We need your support to keep delivering the news you rely on each and every day. Every reader contribution, however big or small, is so valuable. Please support us by making a contribution.

Local News