VARIOUS: Consumers and food manufacturers feel the pressure from world grain price increases

European consumers are worried that the increasing prices for wheat and grain are going to push up the prices of staple foods like bread and pasta. Wheat prices have surged some 75 percent since April after a dry spring turned into a wet early summer, denting the outlook for crops, particularly in Europe. World stockpiles are at their lowest in 25 years and there is strong demand for grains, providing all the ingredients for a sustained rally. "I can tell you than in the past five to ten years, these prices just about allowed farmers to maintain themselves, those who weren't in debt could make benefits, but for those who had borrowed money, they were literally not making anything, so we hope the prices stay higher," said one French wheat producer Francois Barret. Breads, either baguettes or croissants, are a basic food in France, and pasta in one form or another is eaten at least once a day in Italy, so French bakeries and Italian pasta manufacturers are worried that a price hike could force them to raise prices too and thus scare off customers. "For the moment we are sustaining the increasing, as it is a general increase," said bakery owner Xavier Sun Arigoni. "Everybody is trying to gain time, but there comes a time when you can't wait any more: you have to raise prices. So we will keep on holding and holding the situation, and push back the raise of prices until January or February and apply a raise of 22 or 15 cents of a euro... at least 10 cents." At Rome's renowned Volpetti food store, where pasta joins other typical Italian products such as pizza and prosciutto to tempt customers from all over the world, the manager is anxious the rise in price not fall squarely on the shoulders of the consumer. "I hope that there is a wise move by all those involved in the cost chain and everybody along the chain absorbs some of the rise in price and the full rise in price isn't just put on the finished product", said manager Alessandro Volpetti. Volpetti believes the rise in prices, due to the shortage in grain, is also affected by the fact that many farmers are now switching to produce crops for the biofuel industry. Whatever the reason Italian shoppers are angered by yet another price rise on a basic product. They have already seen a rise in price of coffee, mozzarella and bread. "I hope we as citizens fight against it, everyone together," said housewife Matilda Ciardi. "I think there are too many middle men between the producer and the consumer and because of this the price just seems to keep rising," said Giselda Alonsi. Italian consumer groups are hoping the nation will take a stand against the increase in the price of pasta on Thursday (September 13) by calling on shoppers not to buy their favourite product as part of a pasta protest. Consumer groups say they believe Italian customers are much weaker than their European counterparts who are much better organised in protesting against price rises. In order to try and fight back they have organised the pasta strike day and are pushing consumers not to buy pasta supplies on Thursday. 'We are hoping that the consumers will decide not to shop - we are described as the nation of spaghetti and in provocation we are hoping that consumers will not buy pasta for a day' said President of consumer group ADUSBEF, Elio Lannutti. It is rain that has really hammered yields in Europe and turned much of the crop into animal feed quality only, before the dry weather came and shrunk the expected crop yields.

ITN Source | September 13, 2007

Tags:. .wet. .themselves. .pressure. .rally. .various