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Individual bakers to decide product prices

22 Dec 2021

  • Common pricing abandoned amidst price volatility
BY Buddhika Samaraweera The All Ceylon Bakery Owners’ Association (ACBOA) has given up on the setting of a common pricing for bakery products and has instead decided to assign the said task to individual bakery owners in the face of rising commodity prices. Speaking to The Morning yesterday (21), ACBOA President N.K. Jayawardana said that the ACBOA is unable to revise the prices of bakery products on a daily basis in the face of rising commodity prices. Therefore, he said that the ACBOA has requested the bakery owners to increase the prices of bakery products at reasonable prices to suit the prevailing economic situation. “Fuel prices went up on 20 December. On a number of previous occasions, the prices of several essential items for the bakery industry, including wheat flour, went up. In this situation, we are not able to constantly revise the prices. Given these reasons, we, as the ACBOA, have requested the bakery owners to increase the prices of bakery products in a reasonable manner,” he noted. Jayawardana also said that in the prevailing situation, a loaf of bread weighing 400 grams (g) should be sold for at least Rs. 100. He said that in the future, the bakery owners will decide the price of the products considering the cost of production and other costs. Attempts to contact Co-operative Services, Marketing Development, and Consumer Protection State Ministry Secretary K.D.S. Ruwanchandra, proved futile. Following Serendib Flour Mills (Pvt.) Ltd. and Prima Ceylon (Pvt.) Ltd. increasing the price of a kilogramme (kg) of wheat flour by Rs. 17.50, the ACBOA increased the price of a loaf of bread, which was increased by Rs. 5 in October, by Rs. 10 with effect from 29 November. The ACBOA recently pointed out that if the Government takes steps to amend the legal provisions to reduce the weight of a loaf of bread to a certain extent, there is a possibility of reducing the price of bread in comparison. Claiming that there is a long process for such an amendment to be made, Jayawardana, at that time, assured that if the Government can take the necessary steps and implement it, the price of bread can be brought down.


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