Bakers roll back price of Pinoy Tasty by 50¢

MANILA, Philippines - Local bakers have rolled back the price of Pinoy Tasty by P0.50 per loaf last month and is planning to lower the price by another P0.50 if the price of sugar and wheat continues to stabilize, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said yesterday.

At the same time, bakers did not pursue the announced P1 increase in loaf bread prices and those that implemented the adjustment will have a rollback.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Trade and Industry Undersecretary for Consumer Welfare Zenaida C. Maglaya said that Pinoy Tasty is now P38.50 from P39. The rollback was implemented last July. Maglaya said bakers may even make it P38 if sugar and wheat prices remain stable.

“They would like to see if sugar prices will be stable and wheat prices can be fixed,” Maglaya said.

For the branded loaf bread, Maglaya said the increase did not push through because sugar prices went down.

Meanwhile, the price of Safeguard and Tide has already gone up earlier this month because the cost of imported components and raw materials went up. Both products are made by P&G. The last time the prices went up was December 2008. Its rival Unilever did not announce any price adjustment but had a price increase earlier this year.

The price of Tide bar went up to P25.50 per bar from P23.95. The 6.47 percent increase was due to the 11 percent to 21 percent increase in the price of components. Sodium sulphate went up 10 percent; STPP, up 22 percent and HLAS, 10 percent.

Safeguard, on the other hand went, up P1 for 60-g and P2 for 135g bar. The suggested retail price (SRP) as of August 2011 was P15 for the 60g and P35 for the 135g.

Coffee prices are likewise expected to go up next month because of coffee bean prices.