Roxas to Gov't: Stop rise in pan de sal cost

Senator Mar Roxas asked the government today to immediately do something to stop an impending hike of pan de sal and bread prices, as he reiterated his call for the immediate suspension of the VAT on oil to lower the cost of bread making.

“The DTI must find all means to ease the cost of producing pan de sal, bread and pastries. I’m worried this will impact heavily on thousands of small and medium businesses and their employees,” he said.

Bakers have cited high cost of fuel and transportation costs as one of the main reasons why they are pressed to hike bread prices.

“Removing the VAT on oil will have a two-fold effect -- lessen costs of production and put more money in the pockets of their customers,” Roxas stressed.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade and Industry pointed out that fuel is a socially sensitive product and any price hike affects many aspects of the economy, from production down to consumption.

“Ngayon, pati ang presyo ng pan de sal ay tataas na dahil sa hindi mapigil na pagtaas ng presyo ng langis. Kung makikinig ang pamahalaan na suspindihin muna ang VAT ng anim na buwan, sana ay hindi natin mararanasan ito.”

“Patuloy na sinisipsip ng mataas na presyo ng krudo at mga bilihin ang sigla ng ekonomiya at kita ng taumbayan. Kaya imbes na ibsan ng gobyerno ang paghihirap ng taumbayan ay lalo lang nadadagdagan ang paghihirap ng mamamayan sa pagpipilit nito na huwag tanggalin ang VAT sa langis,” he said.

Roxas, Liberal Party President, wants the government to focus on ensuring enough food at affordable prices for the people, particularly by securing rice self-sufficiency much earlier than the government’s 2013 target.

On the other hand, since wheat, the primary component for making bread, is imported and therefore more susceptible to external price shocks, the government must make sure that local bread prices are not excessive and that other cost components are also minimized, he said.

“Our local bread makers need the government to ensure that flour millers are not raising prices unduly, and to utilize other means to reduce the costs of making bread,” he said.

Hard flour now costs P980 per bag, up by P70 from P910 just last April. The price has gone up by over 50% from P640 a year ago. A piece of pan de sal now costs as much as P3.50, and another increase by as much as P1 is expected. For a 600-gram loaf of bread, which now costs P50-P55, an increase of P1.50 is expected.