THE PRICES of bread and other baked products have gone up, with bakeries claiming that the increases are due to the rising raw materials and fuel and utility costs.
Jerry Chambers, president of the Bakers' Association of Jamaica, told The Gleaner yesterday that the bakeries had no choice as the cost of making baked products was getting higher.
It was announced last week that there would be a seven per cent increase in the price of flour, effective March 1, 2003. Since then, several bakeries have raised prices, with some baking products costing between three and eight per cent more. At Hilton's Bakery in Montego Bay, St. James, for example, bread has gone from $60 per two-pound loaf to $65.
Other bakeries, among them Maxfield Bakery in Kingston, are still making price adjustments before announcing the new prices to their customers by tomorrow.
"They will go up about the same about seven per cent," said Diane Campbell, Maxfield's manager.
Mr. Chambers said that prices now vary between $910 plus $45 for transportation and over $1,000 per 45 kg or 100 lb bag of flour, depending on whether it is bought directly from Jamaica Flour Mills or from a distributor.
"There are some serious bills hitting us," said Mr. Chambers, who owns Hilton's Bakery in Montego Bay. "My light bill has gone up by 40 per cent. Since October, we have had a 15 per cent increase in flour (and) packing has gone up by 25 per cent. The only one that has not gone up is sugar."
