Bakers demand level playing field

The Bakers' Cooperative said that in principle it favours liberalisation of the price of the traditional Maltese loaf as long as a level playing field prevails.

The cooperative and the government are expected to hold talks on the matter soon.

On Monday, the price of a big Maltese loaf to the consumer rose by 2c and of a small one by 1c to make up for hikes in the prices of kerosene, announced in the budget, and of flour.

The problem the cooperative sees is that some bakers use kerosene-fired equipment and others still use wood-burning stoves, which entail lower running costs.

Cooperative president Karmenu Micallef said when contacted yesterday the government itself had urged bakers to equip bakeries to be kerosene fired but those who had not done so did not have to bear the higher cost of kerosene now. So he expected the government to offer compensation. Otherwise, they should be allowed to use an alternative fuel, he argued.

"If the government were to give bakers a guarantee that they would not be infringing health regulations if they use light fuel oil instead of kerosene then bakers would be prepared to adjust their equipment to use such oil.

"Bakers who modernised their bakeries had invested thousands of liri but the irony is that such bakers are being penalised for having followed the government's advice," Mr Micallef insisted.

Mr Micallef was reacting to a statement by the Ministry of Competitiveness and Communications earlier this week saying it would be meeting the cooperative in the coming weeks to discuss and possibly decide on the liberalisation of the price of bread.

It argued that repealing the price order on Maltese bread would mean that bakers would be able to compete in a free market. Competition would lead to better quality and value for money, the ministry claimed.