The cost of the humble loaf of bread is set to surge as the price of Australian wheat spikes.
And whether you like white, multigrain, wholemeal or the fancier loaf varieties, it doesn’t matter as all bread prices are set to soar.
The Daily Telegraph report the prices of futures contracts for wheat on the east coast have increased 24 per cent over the past six months.
A futures contract is a deal to buy or sell something at an agreed price at a future date, thereby serving as an indicator of where prices are going.
Farmers are blaming a long spell of dry weather in wheat-growing land for the rise in prices.
The winter season is also off to a poor start with analysts at National Australia Bank this week forecasting Australia’s wheat output from the winter crop to be “a shade under” 20 million tonnes.
A month earlier, the bank was forecasting 21.3 million tonnes and the federal government last month predicated Aussie farmers would deliver a 21.9 million tonne haul.
The difference between the forecasts might sound small but in a nation that eats a lot of bread, and exports a lot of wheat, even a small fall in output can make a big difference to the price.
According to Roy Morgan research, 11 million Australians buy bread every week and Aussies spend more than $2 billion a year at chains such as Brumby’s and Bakers Delight, along with independent bakeries.
Article created in partnership with Over60