This may not be a big deal to many people but it is for me. Bagels have always been my favourite comfort food. I like the type that are boiled first and then back to produce a crunchy crust and chewy interior. Always best while still hot from the oven.
I went into my favourite establishment, Kiva's Bagel Bakery on Steeles Avenue, and found that the price of a bagel has jumped from 66 cents to 75 cents. I had to laugh the girl at the counter tried to blame George Bush in that it was some type of conspiracy. The real reason is the rising price of wheat that is pushing up the price of all baked goods not just bagels. The price of wheat flour is currently at a record $12 a bushel.
Toronto prices aren't as bad as New York prices. The price of a bagel in New York City is over $1 in many bakeries. My favourites places in Manhattan are Tal Bagels and H&H Bagels which are both selling bagels for $1.20 a piece.
I can tell you that pizza and beer are getting hit with big price increases as well. These are supposed to be recession-proof foods.
Grain prices have been stable for years but not any more. The main driver is new demand from China and India, where an emerging middle class is shifting to a higher-quality diet. Those two countries make up over a third of the world's population. On top of that, the rise of the biofuel industry is creating additional demand for corn and canola, used in the production of biodiesel. A third factor is a succession of droughts in the Ukraine, Australia and other major crop-growing regions that has put a crimp in global capacity.
1 comment:
And in the meantime, doesn't the US government pay farmers to not farm some of their land?
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