This was anticipated by the Bakery Industrial Federation of the province of Buenos Aires, which assured that they are not receiving flour at subsidized prices, as contemplated by the Argentine Wheat Stabilizer Fund promoted by the Government.
Leaders of the entity explained to the NA agency that, since they are not receiving the cheapest flour, as contemplated by that Fund, they have no other alternative than to transfer their higher costs to the counter.
Thus, they estimated that prices will be adjusted by 10% towards the end of next week or the beginning of the next, with which a kilo of bread could reach up to $400 throughout the country.
The bakers assure that the Wheat Fund is faltering and cannot maintain prices, although they recognize that the Internal Trade Secretariat is active in control.
However, they point out that consumption did not fall because bread is a key food item in the basic food basket.
In turn, the milling companies argue that the Government is not paying them the subsidies contemplated by the Fund.
This instrument was launched this year with the rise in withholdings on soybean flour and oil from 31% to 33%, with the aim of collecting some US$400 million annually and offsetting the price of wheat flour, which reaches the bakeries.
The move followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which caused international wheat prices to skyrocket.
According to the bakers, a 25-kilo bag of flour, with subsidies, costs $1,346 plus taxes, but without subsidies, it costs $2,500.
For this reason, they explained that a kilo of bread, which is at $300 or $320, can go up to $340 with subsidized flour, but without a subsidy that value will be higher and could climb to $400.
The leaders of the sector insist that the activity is going through one of the most critical moments in recent years, since many bakeries have closed and those that are still open have reduced staff.
Source: Ambito
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