Amidst reports of bread prices in Malta being set to increase, the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (MCCAA) is not in a position to confirm any increase in the price of bread, as it has not investigated such changes, according to Parliamentary Secretary for Consumer Protection Deo Debattista.
The proposed increase would see the price of a large loaf increase by 24 cents and the price of a small loaf increase by 20 cents.
The agreement reached between approximately 90 bakers – as a response to the increase in the price of wheat as well as the ever-increasing wage demands – will come into force as of next month. The price of a 50-kilogram sack of wheat will increase by €2, according to local reports.
Furthermore, a large share of Maltese bakers buy wheat from Federated Mills, whose managerial director, Marco Cachia, claimed that bakers who buy wheat from the company have been notified of the increased international price of wheat. “Foreign experts who collaborate with us in the process of buying wheat have notified us that the price of wheat will increase in a manner that forces the company to revise the way it operates, forcing us to increase the price. This is the first time in four and a half years that the price of wheat has been altered,” Cachia told sections of the media.
However Debattista stated that the MCCAA “is not in a position to confirm that the increase is the sole result of the fluctuation in the price of wheat, from which flour is extracted, in the international market, and also not in a position to predict future fluctuations in price, or to be in a position to state whether there would be a rise in the near future.”
Since the prices of bread and flour are liberalised, there is no control over prices and, therefore, parties are not obliged to inform the government of such changes.
“The authority cannot mitigate increases in pricing in a competitive market. The authority can address abuse of dominant players that establish excessive pricing.”