The price of Maltese bread loaves is set to shoot up by up to 24c as of next month, as bakers seek to cover rising wage costs and wheat prices.

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Approximately 90 bakers have agreed to raise their prices by 24c for large loaves, which will cost 99c, and 20c for small loaves, TVM reported. Other bakeries may choose to raise or maintain their current prices, with the price of bread no longer being centrally controlled.

Bakers told TVM that wages were rising and biting into their profit margins, with the price of wheat also making life difficult.

The price of a 50kg sack of flour is set to rise by €2 in the coming months, as local producers pass on price increases on international commodity markets to bakers.

“This is the first price change in four-and-a-half years,” the managing director of flour manufacturer Federated Mills, Marco Cachia, told TVM.