French Baguette Prices May Increase 20% In Coming Weeks, U.S. Agency Says

French baguette prices may rise 20 percent in the coming weeks after some bakers reported a 25 percent jump in flour prices, a U.S. Department of Agriculture agency said.

Flour prices have climbed since the onset of higher wheat costs, the Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report on the USDA website. The value of wheat represents 5 percent to 7 pecent of bread value, it said. France may be planning to organize a meeting of agriculture ministers from Group of 20 countries to discuss price volatility in agricultural commodities, it said.

France has an estimated exportable surplus of 19.3 million metric tons of soft wheat, and is “in a good position to supply markets” after Russia declared a wheat export embargo, the FAS said. Russia has reduced its wheat export forecast for the coming year from about 36 million tons to 16 million tons, according to the report.

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