The president of the Istanbul Chamber of Bakers, Erdoğan Çetin, said the sector had problems last year due to cost increases.

Expressing that the increases that affect the cost of production such as electricity, water, natural gas, fuel and labor are not reflected in the price of bread, Çetin pointed out that 200 grams of bread are sold at 5 liras in Istanbul, and that the cost of the bread in question is between 4.5 and 4.80 lira, including all expenses. .

Drawing attention to the fact that approximately 20 million loaves of bread are produced in the city per day, Erdoğan Çetin stated that half of the merchants cannot afford the costs and that many bakeries sell alternative products to survive.

‘WE WILL SEE IT IN FEBRUARY’

Stating that traders are demanding an increase, Çetin said: “Our members are demanding that bread prices not cover costs at the moment, but we haven’t asked for a price yet.”

Çetin explained that they are currently observing and will conduct a study on this in the coming days.

Underlining that there is no price increase from today, Çetin said: “It would not be very accurate to give a clear date. Because this month’s official schedule is out. That’s why it wouldn’t be right if I said ‘this day, this time’. The truth is that the price rise will not be in January. We’ll sit down in February and see. Of course, we also have expenses. I hope we meet at a common point. We will reach a decision that will make both our merchants and our citizens happy.”

‘CRAFTSMAN CANNOT MANAGE’

Stating that the price of new bread will be determined after the cost study, Çetin said: “Traders will not increase the price in any way, unless the baker is in a difficult situation, they will not demand an increase in any way. He is constantly demanding a price increase because he is fighting and fighting. The reason for this is the increase in energy costs, the costs of raw materials. It’s not right for the baker to be the scapegoat here.”

Mentioning that they are aware of the troublesome process the country is going through, Çetin said that they are trying to handle as much as they can.

Defending that there are merchants who cannot manage, Çetin said: “We are also obliged to express their problems and problems. Expect good things in 2023. We think the market will be even better after the election. We wish you a year without raises. The climbs don’t help us much. We are constantly confronted with our clients. Our expectations are in this direction. The crisis in the world, the shortage of energy, of course, affects our country and us immensely. (AA)