The era of stale bread begins in bakeries

In Elazığ, where a 200-gram loaf of bread is sold for 7 liras, bakers state that while the 'suspended bread' (askıda ekmek) practice allows low-income individuals to obtain fresh bread, the demand for stale bread is also increasing.

According to a report by Serra Taylan from Gazete Duvar, bakers point out that the rise in flour prices is one of their largest expense items. A tradesman who has been in the bakery business for 14 years said: “Flour and transportation prices are skyrocketing. We don't just produce bread; we also make bakery products. Therefore, increases in almost every item, such as sesame, yeast, and eggs, affect us. In the past, people would buy pastries and simit for breakfast on their way to work. Now, those old sales figures are gone. We are selling the pastries and simit left over from the day before. We give them away either for free or at half price. We have reached the point where if you can't afford bread, you buy stale pastries... The truth is, if you don't have money, you go hungry.”

Baker Muhammed Bulut also stated that the government provided support for flour to bakers last year and that they want the same practice to continue this year.

Noting that bread prices will naturally increase as flour prices rise, Bulut expressed that there is high demand from citizens for the 'suspended bread' practice: “Compared to previous years, there is an increase in the number of citizens asking for stale bread and suspended bread. If flour prices stay at this level, it sustains us. Currently, a sack of flour is 650 TL. But a major price hike is expected at the beginning of the year. After that, our purchasing power will drop, and our costs will increase. What challenges us the most are the prices of flour and firewood. We have a 'suspended bread' practice. It wasn't like this last year, but this year many of our citizens are asking for suspended bread. Those who can get it from the suspended bread supply do so, and those who cannot turn to stale bread,” he said.

News Source: 12punto