Wheat Prices Rise and Affect Restaurateurs

Wheat prices are soaring and that means bad news for the restaurant and bakery industries. It’s an unfortunate result of a variety of factors. While there is no wheat shortage expected, since there is no longer an abundance either, everything from pasta to bread to simple flour will be soaring in price.

Those who rely on these staple products for their restaurants (and let’s face it – aside from a Sushi place, virtually every restaurant will be affected since they at least serve bread) should brace for the extra costs that will be involved.

What Happened to the Price of Wheat?

The cause of the global crisis was a recent announcement by the Russian Federation that they would not be exporting any wheat this summer. The reason was a poor yield in their crop, meaning that they believe they will need to keep everything at home in order to feed their own people.

This has left American and other distributors of wheat based products scrambling for alternative sources as the price on the global market starts to go through the roof.

What this Means for Restaurateurs

Whether you own a restaurant or a bakery, you can expect costs to go up. Aside the obvious costs where bread and flour prices are expected to see a significant rise, there will also be indirect costs since farmers often rely on wheat based feed for their livestock. As price increases are felt across the world, we can expect the cost of meat based products to go up as well

Try Alternate Grains

Since wheat is the primary grain affected, some restaurateurs may wish to experiment with alternate grains for bread products and, to a lesser extent, pasta based products. Products usually made from wheat can also be made from grains such as oats and rye, not to mention rice based products that are used by Celiac disease sufferers.

Tags: Bread, Pasta, Russia, wheat prices