Owners of more than 1,000 bakeries in the Eastern Province have approached the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Asharqia Chamber to allow them to increase prices of their products. "We don't want to hike prices without official permission," they said. A member of the bakeries committee at Asharqia Chamber, who requested anonymity, said the committee does not have the power to sanction price hike. "We'll convey the request of bakery owners to the ministry," the member said, adding that owners of more than 1,000 bakeries in the region have demanded price hike because of a rise in fuel charges. Ali Mashhour, owner of a bakery, said power to increase price is vested in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry while the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs has the authority to monitor the functioning of bakeries across the country. "Any delay in increasing prices would encourage some bakers to reduce weight to offset rising cost," Mashhour said while expressing fears that the present situation would lead to a crisis similar to the ones that occurred in 2010 and 2013 when prices doubled from SR1 to SR2 per packet. Mashhour said prices of bread packets could increase to SR3 because of a rise in fuel prices. "Nobody will be able to predict bread prices and will remain unstable for some time." Activists have started reacting through the social media and said bread price hike would lead to an economic crisis. Bread prices are currently controlled by the state by supporting the General Organization for Grain Silos and Flour Mills and subsidizing wheat prices. Limousine drivers have increased their charges after fuel price hike without waiting for government approval. In Dammam, limousine charges have doubled from SR10 to SR20 and many of them are not ready to accept SR15 for a short trip. Municipal councils have called upon the government to monitor markets to prevent high rise in prices of food and transport. Anwar Al-Majed, director of a group that runs several bakeries, spoke about the challenges facing bakeries even before the rise in fuel prices. "Many bakeries were on the verge of closure or collapse because of Saudization regulations imposed by the Labor Ministry," he pointed out. "There is lack of experienced Saudis to work at bakeries and profits have declined considerably because of rising cost," he added. Illegal cover-up or tasattur business is another challenge facing the sector. Some bakers resorted to increasing prices of products other than bread to offset their losses, he said. Al-Majed said at least 100 bakeries have left the market last year when they faced more difficulties and tougher hygienic conditions in addition to crippling fines and expenses of training of workers (SR1,000 cost of training a single worker). Bakers had to approach a single agency for training to get the necessary certificate.
