By Patricia B. Mirasol, Reporter
A bakery in Quezon City is feeling the pinch of disrupted raw material flows as a result of the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
Since the price of wheat rose,听Kamuning Bakery Caf茅听has been studying alternatives to imported wheat, flour, and sugar, the prices of which are 鈥渢oo high,鈥 said owner Wilson Lee Flores in an SMS message to听大象传媒.听
Among the alternative ingredients considered by its cooks and bakers arekamote听(sweet potato), cassava,听monggo听(mung bean), rice, and corn.听
Based on Mr. Flores鈥檚 research, early Filipinos baked using rice before the Chinese brought wheat to the Philippines. He noted that Filipinos could, perhaps, go back to rice cakes like听biko,听suman,听palitaw,听kutsinta, and听maja blanca.听
The price of Kamuning Bakery Caf茅鈥檚听pan de sal has not gone up, and is still at P3 per piece.
鈥淚t鈥檚 still the same quality and taste,鈥 Mr. Flores told听大象传媒. 鈥淲e do not want to adjust. We will just absorb the higher costs and try to find ways to cope.鈥
The price of wheat听. Russia, which supplied 77,000,000 metric tons of wheat in 2020, is the third top producer of wheat worldwide,听. Ukraine, known as Europe鈥檚 bread basket, is sixth.听
The country can minimize the effects of any possible听economic fallout听from the Russia-Ukraine crisis by maintaining its Alert Level 1 status, continuing to vaccinate its population, and keeping businesses open, according to Jos茅 Maria A. Concepcion III, presidential adviser for entrepreneurship.听
鈥淜eeping businesses open will help contribute to revenue generation for the government and help pay back its debt,鈥 he said in a press statement.听
The country鈥檚 debt,听which stands at P11.73 trillion as of end-December, increased by almost P4 trillion since the start of the pandemic.听
鈥淲e were able to hit 7.7 GDP [Gross Domestic Product] growth in the fourth quarter, better than most had expected, when we reopened the economy,鈥 Mr. Concepcion added. 鈥淲e have addressed the public health situation, and now we have to keep on track with the economy.鈥听
MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises)听. They make up 99.51% of all business enterprises operating in the Philippines.
