Bread Price Increase Put on Hold

Facing complaints by consumers and producers, the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade put on hold the 15% increase in the bread retail prices scheduled to be introduced on Saturday, the head of Iran Chamber of Guilds said.   “Any decision about increasing bread prices will be put off until the next meeting of Market Regulation Headquarters,” Ali Fazeli added.  Price increases were to be set for each province and with the supervision of the provincial governors, IRNA reported.  According to Ali Qanbari, former managing director of Government Trading Corporation of Iran, about 20,000 billion rials ($570 million) worth of bread are wasted annually in Iran.  “The problem can be solved by training bakers, increasing mechanization and improving the quality of raw materials such as wheat and flour,” he has been quoted as saying. Emmanuel Tertrais, the visiting head of France’s Baguette Academy, announced on Friday that 10 Iranian bakers will visit France to receive on-site professional training at his academy, Mehr News Agency reported.