By IANS
Kozhikode (Kerala) : Bread and bun will become costlier from next week in the northern districts of Kerala.
The price of a 300-gram loaf will go up from Rs.10 to Rs.12 while bun will be costlier by Re.1. Instead of Rs.4, it will be sold at Rs.5.
The price hike was announced by All Kerala Mechanised Bakery Owners Association here Tuesday.
“We are forced to hike the prices as the price of all the raw materials have gone up sharply,” the association president V Sukumaran said. He said price was not revised for the last two-and-a-half years, though cost of raw materials like wheat flour, sugar and vanaspati (hydrogenated vegetable oil) had gone up.
“The price of vanaspati went up almost 90 percent in the last two years. It was in last 5-6 months that the prices escalated this much,” said K.P. Rajeevan, treasurer of the association.
He said hike in bread price was necessary for the survival of bread making units. “About 15 units are on the verge of closure in northern Kerala as they have turned unviable due to the rise in input cost.”
“With this hike, there will be a uniform price for bread all over Kerala. The southern districts in the state are already charging Rs.11-12 per loaf, while it had remained Rs.10 in the northern districts,” Rajeevan said.