Senior Reporter
kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
Prices of bread, pastries and desserts will remain the same at Linda’s Bakery, despite the country’s major flour producers lowering the cost of their products.
Peter George, the owner of the 63-year-old bakery operating in 15 locations in Trinidad, said its supplier, National Flour Mills (NFM), did not notify commercial bakeries of any adjustment in flour prices. Commercial bakeries use large sacks of flour, which were not subjected to price adjustments.
George said there was a notification to retailers of the lowering in the cost price of one and five pound bags, so consumers should see those adjustments at supermarkets but not bakeries.
“If and when that time comes, then, of course, we will be looking at what the impact it has. As of now, there has been no notification to the commercial bakeries that the price of flour to the commercial bakeries has changed. So as of now, fundamentally, there is no change in the pricing structure of our bakery products,” George said.
Linda’s held back on increasing prices for four months as raw material expenses went up last year. Following a 10-33 per cent increase in flour prices from NFM and Nutrimix in June 2022, the company had to follow other bakeries, roti shops and doubles vendors in increasing prices.
George agreed with food business owners who said the decrease in flour prices does not compare to the increases in raw material costs over the last three years.
He said food prices went up significantly, and although flour prices have decreased, they are not back to pre-2022 levels. He added that in some businesses, flour was a small part of the input.
“So if flour makes up 30 per cent of your product and the flour prices go down by eight or nine per cent, you have a net effect reduction of two to three per cent. That may not be enough to make retailers move their prices downward. It is not a significant enough reduction, so I think the key to this is that people who go to the retail supermarkets to buy flour should see flour prices a little bit cheaper.”
Although reduced shipping costs have driven prices down, George does not foresee further decreases. He said businesses face many endemic challenges, including access to adequate foreign exchange dollars and inflation.
While T&T has no control over the price of wheat used in flour production and energy prices, local challenges, such as spending on extra security, utilities and increasing labour costs, contribute to inflation. He believes policymaking can help address efficiency and productivity issues.
“If you have to spend $10,000 to $15,000 a month on security, there is only so much the business can absorb, and if the environment in Trinidad is one where you have to have external security to keep your products and business safe, that is a cost that is going to have to be passed to the customer.”
President of the Chaguanas Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CCIC), Baldath Maharaj, said he understands why bakeries, roti shops and doubles vendors are reluctant to reduce prices.
Maharaj said when these businesses increased their prices last year due to flour, there were additional prices they absorbed. Additionally, there were inflationary pressures on transportation, labour and other inputs.
“While the price of flour went down fractionally, we understand why they are not going to budge right away. However, if there are further decreases in flour and oil in the next few months, it may be a good time to review prices,” Maharaj said.
He said doubles, which sell for $6 in many places, are still low priced.
