England

Cost of a Loaf will Rise by up to 6p after Poor Wheat Harvest
The Times, Jul 23, 2001

The cost of a loaf of bread is likely to soar because of a sharp rise in the price of wheat on world grain markets. Britain's wheat harvest is expected to be sharply lower than last year after bad weather and a reduction in planting. The cost of wheat for autumn delivery to millers is up 30 per cent over last year and bakers expect flour millers to pass the cost on, forcing the bakery industry into a confrontation with food retailers. In the past fortnight alone the world price of wheat has risen by more than a tonne. ... A spokesman for British Bakeries, which makes Hovis, issued a warning that the price of bread was likely to rise. ... A spokesman for the supermarket chain Safeway said: "When this kind of thing happens we try to keep the cost down but eventually we would have to put up the price."

Worldwide wheat production has suddenly shifted from surplus to deficit and structural changes threaten to bring an end to the cheap British sliced loaf. The reason for the sharp rise in prices is a collapse in the area planted by wheat growers in North America and Europe. World wheat consumption has exceeded production for several years and stocks have dwindled. Poor prices have pushed farmers away from wheat towards crops such as maize or soya bean. Gerald Mason, senior economist at the Home-Grown Cereals Authority, said: "American farmers are planting less and less wheat. In Britain our wheat area is the lowest since 1982."