The price of bread is continuing to rise in Greece, with bakers in the Athens area saying they can no longer absorb the higher energy, tax and operating costs facing their businesses.
The Athens Bakers’ Guild said the latest increases are not a choice by bakers but the result of mounting costs that have made it increasingly difficult for small bakeries to keep prices down.
The guild also said the industrial bread sector has introduced significant increases for packaged products and bread sold through supermarket chains.
Energy costs drive higher bread prices
Bakers say the rising cost of energy has reached critical levels, creating increasingly difficult conditions for small bakery businesses.
Electricity, heating oil and natural gas prices have all reached very high levels, according to the guild, making it practically impossible for bakeries to continue holding down the price of bread.
In a statement, the guild criticized the government over what it described as inaction in the face of the food crisis and rising food prices.
It said household budgets were under severe pressure, with wages increasingly failing to cover monthly expenses. Thousands of self-employed bakers are facing similar difficulties, as turnover and consumption decline while operating costs continue to rise.
The guild said bakers understand the financial pressures facing Greek families and have tried to keep prices low, but argued that small bakery businesses can no longer continue absorbing the cost of government policies.
“The situation is no longer manageable,” the guild said.
Bakers seek government action
The guild said the government has not responded to repeated requests for a meeting with the leadership of the Ministry of National Economy and Finance.
It also warned that the continued pressure on small neighborhood bakeries could have wider economic and social consequences.
According to the guild, allowing the bread market to become dominated by large supermarket chains and industrial producers would be the worst-case scenario for Greek society.
If neighborhood bakeries disappear, the guild said, the consequences would extend beyond the loss of small businesses and jobs, affecting what it described as an important part of local communities and economies.
Bakers’ demands
The Athens Bakers’ Guild is calling for a series of measures, including:
- Lower energy prices and protections for small bakeries, as well as caps on wholesale energy and refinery prices.
- Abolition of the special consumption tax and value-added tax on energy.
- Abolition of the energy exchange, the reopening of lignite-fired power plants and the lifting of sanctions against Russia that, according to the guild, increase natural gas costs.
- Abolition of VAT on basic consumer goods.
- Abolition of presumptive taxation and advance tax payments for very small businesses.
- A tax-free income threshold of €12,000, increased by €3,000 for each dependent.
- A ban on foreclosures of primary residences and small business premises, as well as protected bank accounts for very small businesses.
- Debt arrangements with the tax authorities and Greece’s social security system at 10% of income, along with the cancellation of interest, fines and pandemic-related debts.
- Free medical and pharmaceutical care for everyone without conditions.
- Substantial financial support for small bakery businesses without banking restrictions.
- Measures to protect household incomes so families can afford basic food needs.
- Maternity benefits for all without conditions.
- Restoration of 13th and 14th pension payments.
- An immediate meeting with the political leadership of the Ministry of National Economy and Finance, with specific commitments to the sector’s viability.
Bakers plan Thessaloniki protests
The Athens Bakers’ Guild said it will participate in protests being organized during the Thessaloniki International Fair on September 5, responding to a call from the Federation of Craft Associations of Attica.
The mobilization comes as bakers warn that rising costs, falling consumption and higher prices are placing increasing pressure on small bakeries across the country.
