Bakers have pressed for reduction in the price of locally milled flour by as much as P170 per bag as prices of milling wheat in the international market have gone down to $300 per metric ton so they can also correspondingly reduce prices of bread products.

Walter Co, president of the Philippine Baking Industry Group (PhilBaking), said that the prevailing prices of a 25-kilogram flour have remained high at P770 to P790 per bag when prices should have been at P600 to P630 per bag based on the $300 per metric ton of wheat, which is similar to the 2007 level of P660 per bag.

Co, however, said the price reduction would only lead to a P2 rollback in the price of loaf bread and P1 per ten-piece pack of pan de sal.

Co said they cannot implement substantial reduction in the prices of bread because of the high prices of other cost components such as power, fuel and sugar. He noted that prices of sugar have remained high of between P48 to P50 a kilo from P30 a kilo before prices surged late last year.

In early February this year, bakers raised prices of the 600 gram loaf bread by P2 and P1 per pack of ten piece pan de sal as price of sugar went up to P54 per kilo. But since 2008 to 2009, bakers also implemented three price rollbacks to reflect lower flour prices.

Later in February this year, President Gloria Arroyo extended for the second time the duty-free importation of milling wheat into the country under Executive Order 863 to avert further increases in prices of bread. At that time, prices of flour were in the range of P970 to P990 per 25-kilogram bag.

Simplicio Umali Jr., president of the country’s biggest breadmaker Gardenia Bakeries Philippines also echoed the call of Co noting that the current lower prices of milling wheat provides more room for flour millers to reduce prices of flour.

“The current lower prices of wheat is a good indication that the higher cost of electricity and fuel can be offset by flour millers resulting in more stable prices of bread,” Umali said.

Umali expects flour millers to reflect the lower prices of milling wheat in their locally milled flour to enable the bakers to pass on the savings to consumers.

“We hope that flour prices will decline likewise and consequently bread,” he said.

At present, the price of sandwich white bread is around P53.50/loaf and pan de sal at P28.75/10pc. pack in supermarkets depending on the brand.