Study Continues; Still No Decision on the Cost of Bread

And while Minister Perez can relate to the concerns of the Belize Bakers Association, it simply comes down to the fact that consumers will take on any additional costs and not the producer. This puts an additional stress on consumers who have no control over their income. These are all the things that Food Security Minister Jose Abelardo Mai says are being compiled and will be presented to cabinet. But is it inevitable that the cost of bread is going to increase?

Jose Abelardo Mai

Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture, Food Security & Enterprise

“We are not saying that the price will not go up. We are just saying that we are studying it carefully. We are studying the cost of producing bread carefully. As a matter of fact, not even Bebe Agua supposed to go up right now. We initially thought that they would get an increase of ten percent because Bebe Agua is the flour used by the bakers for bread. But we cannot give them an increase if we cannot allow the bread makers to get an increase. It would be unfair to give an increase in the price of flour and tell the bakers you cannot increase your price. So we are still studying it carefully we are analyzing it. We are meeting with bakers and Belize Mills to ensure that when we make the decision it is a justified and rational decision based on the cost of production. We understand the situation. We are not saying that the price will not rise. We are just saying that we are analyzing, studying carefully if we can lower their parts. Say packaging material pay high duty, is it possible for us to reduce the import duties so that the producers can have a lower price? These are the options that we analyzing and looking at carefully before we make a determination. You are right, at the end of the day, it is the consumers who pay. We understand the consumer, but we also understand the producers and the businessmen.”