The Finnish Bakeries Association predicts that the cost of bread will go up by an average of 5-10 percent this autumn, even though bulk prices for grains are stabilising on the global market.
The industry body's chair, Mika Väyrynen, says that higher expenses in general are pushing up retail prices.
"The biggest factors in the bakery business are personnel and energy costs," he explains. "The cost of grain only accounts for 4-5 percent of the shelf price of a loaf of bread."
In recent years, fierce price competition has driven nearly 100 small and medium-sized bakery firms out of business in Finland. Väyrynen says he hopes the worst of this over. He notes that Finnish consumption has moved closer to the central European café tradition, meaning there is demand for more expensive speciality products.
The owner of the Rikkilä bakery in Lappeenranta, eastern Finland, says that specialisation is the key to survival for a small baked-goods company.
"We have to be able to get a price for bread that makes it worthwhile to keep making it by hand," says Simo Vainikka.
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