The price of bread and cereals has risen dramatically in 2023 – and those prices are likely to remain high, continuing to exacerbate Australia’s cost-of-living crisis.
The war in Ukraine has caused volatility in the wheat market and is driving up the price of bread despite record harvests last year.
According to the Consumer Price Index, the price of bread and cereal has risen 11.6 per cent in the first six months of 2023.
Dennis Voznesenski, a senior agriculture analyst at Rabobank, said after Russia stopped Ukrainian grain from being exported out of the Black Sea, prices in Australia peaked at around 20 per cent above July 17 levels.
“We’re an exporter like Ukraine, so when there is less available grain as a result of the war in the Black Sea, it means other sources need to import grain from other origins,” he said.
“Australia produces a lot more grain than we consume, so the surplus has to be exported to the international markets and whatever happens there impacts prices locally.”
Colin Bettles, chief executive of Grain Producers Australia, said other factors have influenced the increased cost of wheat and grain products in 2023.
“We’ve seen a significant increase in input prices as well and that’s probably been a bigger issue for the growers to manage because it’s an immediate cost to their business,” he said.