TRINIDAD'S BAKERS are not too impressed that the price of flour has decreased, according to president of the Baker's Association, Ronald Austin.
For years, he said, the bakers in his association have boycotted locally-milled flour in favour of baker's flour produced by Jamaica Flour Mills (JFM).
Why are bakers willing to pay more for imported flour than buy the flour produced by either state-owned National Flour Mills or Nutrimix's Country Pride?
Austin, president for the past three years, said its very simple the two flour producers do not produce the quality they expect.
He represents about 60 of the 160-plus bakeries in the country.
"I myself have been using Jamaican flour for the past four years and it is a good quality of flour and you get it for around the same market price," he said.
He remarked while the reduction in the price of flour of about 20 per cent by both NFM and its competitor Nutrimix may have signalled good news for consumers, it will have little effect on the price of bread and pastries.
STANDARD PRICE
"As a baker, it is not sustainable to drop prices. As part of an association, I have never advocated for a standard price. I think that will be to the detriment of competition in the country because the quality would not remain. That is what standardisation does."
He said hops can range from TT$4.50 (J$45.00) to TT$6.50 (J$65.00) a dozen, depending on the place. "That is how you know the industry is vibrant, when you let market forces take their course," said Austin, the owner of Affan's Bakery in Irving Street, San Fernando.
He said locally-produced flour does not give a good yield and often the baker has to tinker with every recipe to get a good batch.
"It's not the same with every batch. From time to time, I will try what's available on the market but it never produces to the quality I expect," he said.
Tom Chin Fatt, manager of Linda's Bakery, said the quality of the locally-produced flour was not up to expectation. He uses the Jamaican flour.
INCONSISTENCY
"There is too much inconsistency in the local brands so you find yourself making bad bread and then have quite a bit of losses. So you pay a little more to get consistency and quality," said Chin Fatt.
He said local bakers would usually pay about $119 for a 100- pound bag of Jamaican flour compared to NFM which retails for about $113.
Last October, NFM's chief executive officer, Michael Potella, had blamed flour quality for the poor quality pastries available on the market and the declining standards of bakery products.
He criticised bakeries for not investing resources towards elevating baking standards and said the present poor product offerings also help explain the proliferation of imports in recent years.
Nutrimix's CEO Vasant Bharath said the company had an in-house bakery and baked with flour from every batch which they produced.
He said there have been a number of smaller bakers who use their product and produced good quality cakes and pastries. He explained that some bakers may be sceptical about trying new flour because they had limited resources to work with and could not afford a bad batch and have their business interrupted.
With market having several options for consumers, will bakers still continue import?
Chin Fatt said he was considering experimenting with Nutrimix's Country Pride because of problems he faces at the port.
INEFFICIENT
He said he was shelling out more money at the port and could not afford to be inefficient because he required flour on a daily basis.
While the reduction in price may have given bakers a reprieve, Chin Fatt noted that for the past two years the prices have risen consistently, wages have also increased from a minimum of $8 to $9.
Austin said right now he was short of two labourers and couldn't hire anyone at minimum wage. He pays his employees up to $13 a hour.
"We have a huge labour problem. Everything is becoming more mechanised and it is so difficult to get people in here. There has been no bakery opened in this country in the last five years," he said.
Meanwhile, as competition in the local flour industry heats up, another flour mill Humming Bird Flour Mill which is nearing completion in Pt. Lisas Industrial Estate is also set to begin milling soon.
Taken from The Trinidad Guardian
Humming Bird Flour Mill is owned by Suriname businessman Jai Benie.
