THE Philippine Federation of Bakers’ Association Inc. (PFBAI) may join the call for the government to suspend the increase in the excise tax on fuel next year to prevent further hikes in the price of bread products.
PFBAI Vice President Lucito Chavez said stakeholders in the bakery industry are set to hold a dialogue with the Department of Trade (DTI) and Industry this week to discuss the looming increase in bread prices.
“If that will be the biggest solution, one that would benefit a lot of Filipino people, then we are fine with that,” Chavez told the BusinessMirror when asked if his group would support the proposed suspension of the second tranche of excise tax on fuel under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.
For 2018 to 2020, the TRAIN law indicated that the schedule increase in the excise tax on fuel may be suspended when the average Dubai crude oil price based on Mean of Platts Singapore for three months prior to the scheduled increase of the month reaches, or exceeds, $80 per barrel.
The Department of Finance is also tasked to perform an annual review of the implementation of the excise tax on fuel.
More expensive diesel and LPG prices, the PFBAI official said, have prompted bakeries to consider hiking the retail prices of Pinoy Tasty and Pinoy Pandesal.
Chavez noted that the price of raw materials used in producing bread products, such as sugar, yeast, margarine, butter and flour, have also gone up over the past year.
“Definitely [we will increase our prices]. In a time when everything is going up, it is abnormal if there will be no price movement, as well,” he said.
“The price of yeast increased by almost 10 to 14 percent, while the prices of sugar rose by 40 percent over the previous year. Our prices have remained the same for the past two years,” Chavez added.
However, the PFBAI official did not provide an estimate as to the rate of increase in the retail prices of Pinoy Tasty and Pinoy Pandesal. He said the final figure would materialize after the meeting between industry stakeholders with DTI officials this week.
Local bakers have agreed to the appeal of the government to hold off the increase in the prices of Pinoy Tasty and Pinoy Pandesal until the end of the month.