Click here for Mobile Site: http://m.cbs5.com
  • Font Size    
Advertising
E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

Cost Of Bread Skyrockets Amid Wheat Shortage

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

   Print     Share +    Comments
Feb 15, 2008 6:40 pm US/Pacific

Cost Of Bread Skyrockets Amid Wheat Shortage

Linda Yee, Reporting
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) ― Bread is a staple, and for many families, it's hard to live without it. But whether it is bought in a neighborhood bakery or a supermarket, it's hard to ignore just how much a loaf of bread has skyrocketed.

"It's incredible, it's gone up 50 cents from month by month," said Sandy Jack, a customer at a local bakery. "I can't believe it."

The economics are simple: the demand for flour is high because there is a worldwide shortage of wheat. The United States is exporting more grain.

"We have poor crops overseas in Australia, the Ukraine. Wheat crops, but some of it reflects the fundamental change in the market," said Gary Schlossberg of Wells Capital Management. "We have the move towards biofuels, ethanol that is diverting production away from food and toward production of fuels."

Flour costs have tripled in the past year for bakers. It now costs more than sugar.

"It's like gold," said Pascal Rigo, a baker at La Boulange Bakery. "We are very careful (with) every little gram of flour we use."

Consumers can expect to pay 50 cents to $1.00 more per loaf than they did just a year ago. Bakers say it's going to get worse in the coming months.

Bakers at the family-owned Boudin's in San Francisco say the wheat shortage has resulted in the lowest supply in 60 years. They say the higher costs are catastrophic.

"The bread business is going to turn into the milk business or the meat business, where the prices change on a weekly basis," said Dan Giraudo, who buys the flour for Boudin's.

Like a commodities futures trader, he's buying up supplies now to avoid higher costs expected for the winter crop.

"It's a difficult time," Giraudo said. "You'll see a lot of fallout within the industry I would assume within the next year."

(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Add Comment

here. here. Need a log in? Register here
  •  * Will not be displayed with comment
  •  * e.g. (http://www.mywebsite.com)
  •  
  • Click here to refresh with new letters

Show Comments (0)

Close Window Login


Close Window Flag Comment


loading...
You need the latest Flash player to view video content.
Click here to download.

Click here to bypass this detection if you already have the latest Flash Player.

ConsumerWatch

Top News Stories

© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.