When people think about something that is going up in price, they automatically make the assumption of gasoline. However, with recent climate changes and a differentiating economical trend a basic commodity is rising higher in cost, wheat.
This product is an integral part of the United States’ economy. It is used to feed all the livestock which provide meat, as well as a basic staple of flour which is sold around the world.
Flour is the main ingredient in some of our favorite foods like pasta, bread, bagels, and of course pizza. But with the rising cost of flouring store owners must combat the preparation costs somehow and have begun to raise their prices to match that of the increasing flour.
Barry Levy, assistant store manager for Bagel Town in West Hempstead said “three months ago I was paying $10 a bag for flour…now I am paying $35 and am told it is going to increase again very soon.”
To try and balance the cost of flour and limit the amount he must increase his menu, he has begun to dig into his own pockets for the time in an effort to ease the cost. “I started pulling $1,900 from our profits and putting it back into the flour to keep my bagel prices down.” At Bagel town a plain bagel with butter will cost you $.89 but less than a mile away it costs you $1.25.
On the Web site for the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission a press release, posted Feb. 8, commented on the approval of several amendments to increase the daily price limit on wheat contracts to 60 cents per bushel, up from 30 cents per bushel — with a further hike to 90 cents per bushel if necessary.
Businesses affected by the price of flour are scrambling to stay afloat in this sea of uncertainty. Mama C’s pizzeria of Hempstead has to purchase 400 bags of flour every two weeks, and each time she places an order the price has changed. “Two weeks ago I paid $32.00 per bag, and when I put in the order this week, it was up to $34.00.
Regardless of the reasons behind the skyrocketing prices in wheat and flour businesses are still just as crazy as before. Customers have commented on the prices and have taken a deep concern, but only few have curbed their appetite for flour based products.
A series of wheat crop failures abroad, combined with the U.S. dollar being at historic lows against the euro and other currencies, has forced Bohbot and other bakers to compete with the rest of the globe for grain - even what's grown in the United States. World demand for the staple has sent the price of the 50-pound bags of flour stores use for baguettes and marzipan cakes soaring to $27, up from $12 a year ago. To cover the increase, a local bread store has doubled the price of their loss-leading baguettes to $1.98 and pushed the cost of their breads up a buck to $5.50.
