Poor quality of wheat harvest could raise price of bread

Budapest, August 8 (MTI) – The poor quality of Hungary’s near-record wheat harvest this year could put pressure on the price of bakery products, daily Népszava said on Monday.

Farm economist György Raskó told the paper that only one-third of this year’s crop is of milling quality, the lowest ratio in a long time.

Népszava noted that Hungary’s bakery industry has been pressing the government for years to lower the VAT rate on their products from 18 percent to 5 percent. Bakers’ margins now stand at just 0-2 percent, making capital expenditures impossible. The industry is also struggling with a shortage of 2,500-3,000 labourers who have gone abroad to seek higher-paying jobs.

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Hungarian Grain Association chief secretary Zsófia Potsa told the paper that the country’s milling industry has been loss-making for years.

Source: MTI