A TEN percent increase in the price for flour has been implemented by the National Milling Company of Guyana Inc (NAMILCO), Managing Director Bert Sukhai disclosed yesterday.
Speaking with this newspaper on the telephone, he said upon hearing about the proposed increase in flour, customers cleared the company’s bonds of flour by Monday afternoon. It is for this reason that the increase had to be implemented immediately, he said.
According to him, some items had been increased by less than ten percent but nothing exceeds that amount. Biscuit flour, for example, went up by five percent, he said.
According to the Government Information Agency (GINA), President Jagdeo had urged local bakers to avoid the trickle-down effect which the Guyanese consumer could face as a result of rising flour prices on the regional and international markets.
NAMILCO had proposed a 15 percent increase on the price for flour but President Jagdeo wanted no more than 10 percent, and made his preference known at a meeting Monday.
According to Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Manniram Prashad, who was at the meeting, bread prices should increase by a mere $5 or $10 for bakers who purchase from NAMILCO, while at other bakeries, prices will remain the same.
The increase was pursued by NAMILCO based on the movement of wheat that was increased by over 30 percent since last October.
A press release from NAMILCO last week said wheat cannot be grown in Guyana and hence all the wheat needed to produce flour is imported. “We have in the past tried to keep prices steady by buying a few shipments at a time at locked-in prices. However, prices have been rising since 2010 so at some point it had to impact Guyana,” the release said.
“In 2008, wheat prices spiked and the government was kind enough to intervene to keep flour prices affordable. In November 2008, when wheat prices declined, we were able to reduce prices to original levels. Wheat prices then remained relatively stable for over two years with flour prices remaining unchanged right up to October of last year, when a small increase of $4.40 per pound was added,” it said.