The warnings of higher prices for our daily bread are ominous for consumers and bakers alike.
Bakeries across Canada report the cost of a bag of flour has doubled or more in a matter of months. This is making it impossible to hold the line on the prices they charge their customers.
"The price of flour has gone up 130 per cent in the last year," says Linda Haynes, co-owner of Toronto's ACE Bakery, which makes artisanal breads, buns and crackers. "And then things like other prices on grains and eggs are also climbing."
Robert Fleet of Dundas, Ont., decided to revive his mother's bakery operation in 2007 after ill health forced Laura Fleet to retire. Their stall at the Hamilton Farmers' Market is a hive of activity because of the high quality of baked goods on sale.
But, Fleet says, the increasing costs of everything from flour to canola oil has hit him hard just as he is endeavouring to re-establish the business.
"I am looking into alternative grains, such as spelt or blends of barley or buckwheat, but if loaves made with these catch on with shoppers, the prices will probably go up as well."
"It's not an industry that is doing well at this time and that's an understatement," said Paul Hetherington, president of the Baking Association of Canada in Mississauga, Ont. "To say the situation is dire - I tend not to want to use words like that, but I think it is fair in this case."
So far, shoppers seem to be swallowing the increases, says Fleet.
"I'm trying not to overcharge our customers because many of them are on limited incomes and at some point will have to draw the line and just stop buying until the prices come down."
Haynes points to Britain where a year ago the industry started talking about price increases and "they started implementing them. What they really did was to educate the public that this would be coming, whereas in North America this has come as a big surprise to the public."
This is going to be very hard on small bakeries that don't have the large customer base that larger operations have, she notes.
A check of several housewares departments in major department stores Sears and WalMart indicated that so far there hasn't been a run by shoppers on bread machines for home use.
"I think when bread does become too pricey, people will start making bread at home," says Toronto businesswoman Joan Lister.
"A lot of people bought bread machines back in the '70s and '80s and it was like, 'wow, we can make our own bread so easily,"' she says. "Then the novelty wore off and the machine ended up in the basement or on the front lawn in a garage sale."
Some consumers are wondering if bread is going to become a specialty luxury item as prices climb to over $6 a loaf.
"I think bread is a staple and will survive this crisis," says Haynes.
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Judy Creighton welcomes letters at 9 Kinnell St., Hamilton, Ont., L8R 2J8, but cannot promise to answer all correspondence personally. She can also be reached by e-mail at jcreighton(at)golden.net.
Here are some recent facts about bread prices in Canada:
-Grain prices are soaring, fuelled by demands for more convenience foods especially in China and India.
-Bake shops across the country report that the cost of a bag of flour has doubled or more in a matter of months, making it impossible to hold the line on the prices they charge their customers.
