A poor harvest may become the main reason for the rise in price of a strategic product – bread.
In November, bread prices in retail may rise by another 10-15%. Otherwise, producers will be forced to reduce the volume of deliveries to stores.
This was reported by the President of the All-Ukrainian Association of Bakers and the head of the Kyiv Bread company Yuriy Duchenko in a commentary for Minfin.
It is noted that in October, bread has already risen in price by 5-10%, which was agreed upon with retail chains. However, this did not compensate for the increase in producers' costs. Almost all the main components of production continue to rise in price: it is expected that from November to the end of the year, the price of flour will increase by another 11%, logistics services – by 8%, gas – by 11%, and electricity – by 11%.
Duchenko explained that there are no more last year's wheat reserves, and the new harvest of food wheat is actively exported. Therefore, its price on the domestic market is growing, and producers are selling grain in small batches or even holding it back in anticipation of an even higher price. This affects the stability of flour supplies for producers.
“If bread prices are not raised by another 10-15%, producers will face a shortage of funds to purchase raw materials in a few weeks, which could lead to a reduction in production,” he said.
Recall that the day before, the NBU reported that further acceleration of inflation is expected in the coming months due to increased business expenses on wages and electricity, increased excise taxes, and the effect of the hryvnia devaluation pass-through.