Paris, Oct. 27 (BNA): Rising wheat prices have alarmed French households who fear a possible rise in the price of the baguette, which is seen by many as a barometer of the country’s economic health, according to the Associated Press.
Many Boulanger stores across France put up signs warning customers that the price of the long, crunchy staple could rise by 3 to 5 centimeters (4 to 6 cents), from its average of about 89 centimeters (just over $1).
Anrak said the bread industry crisis is linked to a 30% increase in wheat prices worldwide since September – a key ingredient of French bread – after bad harvests in Russia. Anrackt and other experts say rising energy prices that make furnaces more expensive to run is also a factor, with businesses and consumers around the world already feeling higher prices due to supply chain and labor constraints.
Energy prices are affecting the Italian food chain as well, with expectations that they will raise the cost of drying grains. This may eventually raise the price of bread and pasta in supermarkets, but the meat and dairy aisles are more vulnerable as meat and dairy farmers have to pay more for grain to feed their animals and pass the cost on to customers.
France’s 67 million people are voracious consumers of French bread. The country’s Bread Observatory — a respected institution that closely follows the fortunes of the famous 65-cm (26-inch) loaf — notes that the French chew 320 baguettes every second.
That’s an average of half a baguette per person per day and 10 billion each year.
Although the baguette appears to be the quintessential French product, it is said to have been invented by the Vienna-born baker August Zang in 1839. Zang developed a French steam oven, which made it possible to produce bread with a crisp crust and a thin interior.
The peak of the product didn’t reach until the 1920s, with the advent of a French law forbidding bakers to work before 4 a.m. The baguette’s long, thin shape meant it could be made more quickly than its cousins, so it was the only bread bakers could make at the time. Appropriate for breakfast.
French Culture Minister Roselyn Bachelot has even nominated the baguette for a place on UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage next year.
Baguettes are such a serious business that bakers across France say bakers across France are willing to sacrifice other bread products to keep the baguette pricey, by spreading out the extra costs.
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