The trade of stale bread has witnessed a drop in Syria despite a significant rise in fodder prices. Fodder dealers claim that before the rise in bread prices, dealers used to buy large quantities of stale bread, largely from private bakeries, to then sell on to livestock breeders at prices of up to 50 pounds per kilo.
One dealer told al-Watan that stale bread prices had reached at least 35 pounds, while some people who traded in stale bread collected the excess from houses at no more than 25 pounds, adding that public bakeries used to sell the stale bread in open auctions.
After the hike in bread prices, the trade significantly declined for several reasons, including "the drop in bread consumption and the drop in quantities of stale bread in private bakeries due to economic infeasibility, while the same applies to public sector bakeries which are not permitted to exceed specified ratios."
The General Director of Bakeries explained to al-Watan: "the percentage of stale bread has witnessed a clear decline as a result of the development in work, the supervision over production lines and the permanent follow-up to the work of bakeries. Furthermore, the electricity and water cuts certainly affects the production process, as the damaged bread ratio is below the permitted percentage, which is five per 1,000 according to the law."
The director said the percentage of damaged bread in the bakeries does not exceed four per 1,000, noting that the amount of damaged bread in the country did not exceed 25 tons last year.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
