Price hike on your loaf
Bakers in the Midlands are being forced to increase the prices of their bread and cakes to make a profit after poor harvests pushed up the cost of flour.
Hot weather in Canada and Australia, the key wheat-growing countries, has scorched a lot of the crop and the yield has been poor, leading to millers putting up prices.
Bakers also say UK farmers are encouraged to grow more crops for fuel, which means fewer producing crops for flour.
Some independent bakers have had to increase the cost of a loaf by 10 per cent, although larger bakers have the muscle to be able to hold down prices.
Mark Jasper, who runs Jasper's bakeries in Weeping Cross, Stafford, and Penkridge, said he was reluctantly having to increase his prices by up to 10 per cent. He said: "We haven't put our prices up for four years but this time we have no choice.
"The price of flour has almost trebled over the past eight months. It is a depressing time for every baker."
Steve Ray, the owner of Tony's Bakers, on Peel Street in Kidderminster, said he had been forced to put up his prices by about three per cent.
Bloomers Traditional Bread & Cakes, in Dimbles Lane, Lichfield, has been "crippled" by the poor flour harvest. Owner Philip Vincent said: "Flour suppliers are trying to bring in another five per cent increase. We are trying to negotiate a deal so it won't mean any more price hikes."
A spokesman for Warburtons, based in Wednesbury, said there had been a 30 per cent increase in the price of wheat in recent months.
He said: "These market pressures mean that we have had to increase our wholesale prices."
But Ian Bolderston, owner of Firkins and Wollaston Bakeries all round the Black Country, said they were not affected. He said: "We buy in bulk and set our prices for 12 months. Smaller traders would be in a weaker position if they are trying to negotiate by the bagful."
