The bakers claim that the price of bread must rise because of the increased prices the have to pay milling companies for wheat flour.
A spokesperson for the bakers, Victor Miguel, said the milling companies have increased the price of flour twice in less than a month. The price is now between 565 and 575 meticais (about 23 US dollars).
The bakers complain that the cost of a loaf of bread has remained unchanged since April 2004, when a loaf cost 3.5 to four meticais - but when a 50 kilo sack of flour only cost 390 meticais.
"The situation was already at unbearable levels for the bakers", claimed Miguel, "but with this latest increase in the price of wheat flour, we seem to have been left with no alternative but to increase the price of bread, even though we are aware that this will penalize the public, for whom bread is a basic foodstuff".
He declined to give any figures in terms of the new price, or the date on which it will take effect. But other sources told "Noticias" that the proposal before the meeting is to raise the price to five meticais a loaf.
A further concern of the bakers is the unfair competition they face from informal operators, who pay no tax. Miguel complained that the relevant authorities have been doing nothing to combat this tax evasion.
"This situation puts us in an even more uncomfortable position, particularly if we take into account the operational costs that we must bear, working in the formal sector, because we must pay taxes to the state and wages to our workers, while the price of electricity and other items used in baking has also increased", added Miguel.
The milling companies say that their price increases have been determined by rise in the international price of wheat.
SOURCE: AIM
