Cabinet Shuts Down 75 Cents Bread Increase

We have been reporting extensively on the increased cost of a sixteen-ounce loaf of bread. The price adjustment was placed in the Gazette on May fourth, and it came into effect early this week. So why was there no public announcement about the adjustment? And is this the last we will see of a price increase on bread for now? We asked the Minister of Agriculture.

 

Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture 

“I believed that the Ministry had made an announcement. I was really made to understand that it was gazette I think. But I believe that yes I should have said the price if bread has moved from so to so, you are right in that. We erred in that statement. Look, that matter we took a look at a number of times and many of the ministers were worried, everybody is worried about high cost, even me. But when the bread makers showed is their cost, mein how would you survive at this price? Now they wanted seventy-five cents and we said that cannot be because we were subsidizing twenty-five cents. So we said, we are prepared to go ten cents above that. We went to thirty-five cents. But they didn’t implement it for a while because they were waiting for us to bend and say we will give you seventy cents but that could not be the agreement because Cabinet has said listen, we are not prepared to go more than thirty-five cents. That is where we are with that.”

 

Reporter

“Now these bakers are still staying, and justifiably, you know the numbers, that they want more.”

 

Jose Abelardo Mai

“That is not something that will happen right now. I think that all around you see prices are going up and it has to be managed somewhere that we are putting policies in place for the basket of goods, and we try to police it. It is not an easy thing to control global inflation, especially when it is imported. I don’t even think I want to take that to Cabinet because I will be gunned down before I get to the doors of Cabinet. It will not happen at all. It will not happen.”