When a French-style patisserie opened on Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles six years ago, owner Julien Bohbot thought the competition for his small Delice Bakery would come from the other kosher bakeries down the street.
But now Bohbot is competing with bakers from Paris and Pretoria -- all in search of flour. Short supplies have raised the price of wheat worldwide and sparked protests over the cost of tortillas in Mexico and pasta in Italy. In the United States, it's raised the cost of such basic goods as bread, cereal and pizza.
The latest statistics from the federal government have given Bohbot more reason to worry. The price of bakery and cereal products rose 1.8% in February, the largest monthly increase since January 1975. Overall, the cost of eating at home has risen more than 5% so far this year, the fastest rate since 1990.
Mike Celeste, a San Dimas financial advisor, has experienced the increase firsthand. Since October, the price of the two-loaf bag of sourdough bread he frequently buys at Sam's Club has jumped 28% to $4.06. Celeste said the warehouse chain also raised the price of the fresh pizza he likes by 90 cents, to $8.87.
The price of white bread has risen 19% in the Western U.S. since June, according to the government.
The plight facing small bread makers like Bohbot -- and much larger businesses such as Sara Lee Corp. -- prompted the American Bakers Assn. to hold a protest march in Washington, D.C., last week.
"It is crucial that the White House, our elected representatives and the Department of Agriculture hear firsthand how bakers . . . are struggling with current market conditions," said Robb MacKie, chief executive of the trade group. "Wheat markets -- and commodity markets in general -- are behaving in ways that we have not seen before. We believe that extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures."
As the bakers were marching, wheat hit a record price of $12.70 a bushel Wednesday. It fell back to $11.60 by Friday but still stands 31% above where it started the year.
A series of wheat crop failures abroad, combined with the U.S. dollar being at historic lows against the Euro and other currencies, has forced Bohbot and other bakers to compete with the rest of the globe for grain -- even what's grown in the United States.
World demand for the staple has sent the price of the 50-pound bags of flour Bohbot uses for his baguettes and marzipan cakes soaring to $27, up from $12 a year ago.
