MANILA: As the war in Ukraine pushes up wheat prices and a less strong peso raises the cost of imported edible oil, many Philippine bakers are shrinking the dimensions of a popular breakfast roll to cope with higher pumpiing.
The slightly sweet plus pillowy soft “pandesal”, which Filipinos often dunk in espresso or stuff with cheese, used to consider 35g at Matimyas Bakery, a breadmaker in suburban Manila.
But because the cost of local plus imported ingredients soared in recent months, co-owner Quickly pull Mauleon gradually reduced the size of the roll – known as the “poor man’s bread” because it is cheap – to around 25g to avoid raising the 2. 50 peso (about US$0. 04) price.
The lady feared that a slight increase would certainly send cash-strapped clients in her neighborhood to a rival bakery five blocks away.
“We needed to reduce the serving size to outlive, ” Mauleon told AFP, as children, workers and retired people arrived early to buy rolls baked in a brick oven that morning.
Since the Philippines lifted COVID-19 restrictions and schoolchildren began returning to the classroom this year, Mauleon had hoped financial conditions for the bakery would improve.
But since December, as wheat and energy prices surged, the price of flour has increased by more than 30 percent, while sugar is up 25 per cent plus salt costs forty per cent more, she said.
The bakery survives everyday and does not make sufficient money to buy ingredients in bulk, leaving it vulnerable to changing prices in domestic and international markets.
After reducing the amount of employees and dissipating higher costs, Mauleon was forced recently to raise the price of a pandesal by 20 per cent to three pesos.
Shrinking the size of the move any further would have an effect on its quality, the lady said.
“We will try it away if people will certainly still buy it, ” Mauleon stated.
“Pandesal is very important in the lives associated with Filipinos. ”
For mother-of-five Laarni Guarino, the price walk means her family members now eats less rolls for breakfast.
“We will have to redo our budget. Through five pieces every, my children will need to eat just 3 to 4, ” Guarino, 35, told AFP.
“Fifty centavos is really a big thing to get poor people like us. ”
“SHRINKFLATION”
Lucito Chavez, president of an organization representing local bakeries, said thousands of breadmakers were reeling from the higher cost for raw materials, most of which are imported.
“All of us are struggling, never to make profit, but to survive, ” Chavez told AFP.
“We have to shield the pandesal sector. ”
Pumpiing in the Philippines strike 6. 1 percent in June, the greatest level in nearly four years, as steep fuel price hikes pushed up food and transport expenses.
Lawmaker and economist Joey Salceda said bread will be hardest hit simply by “shrinkflation” , where the size of a product gets smaller but the cost stays the same.
“Wheat prices have increased by 165 per cent, ” he told reporters recently, urging bakeries to fortify their products along with vitamins and minerals.