(From Haaretz🙂 Minister Eli Yishai told the Finance Ministry on Sunday that he has no intention of signing an order to increase the cost of price-controlled bread by 12.5% without compensating the needy. The flour mills have notified the bakeries over the last two weeks that they are raising flour prices by 35-40 percent starting Sunday. The sharp rise in prices is a result of the increase in world flour prices by 30 percent over the last month, as well as the rise in the dollar against the shekel.

In response, the bakeries have informed the Employment, Trade and Industry Ministry that they cannot continue to produce price-controlled bread if they do not receive immediate approval to raise these prices by at least 8 percent.

The types of bread under price supervision include plain white bread, plain brown bread and regular challah – all of them sold whole or sliced.

According to the bakeries, most of them have enough flour to bake bread only until Tuesday. Following their calculations, the price of dark bread needs to increase by 12 percent .

In the letters they sent out, the flour mills threatened the bakeries that any bakery that does not agree to the new prices will have its flour supplies cut off.

World wheat prices rose from $180 to $240 a ton in the last month. According to the state’s formula for setting bread prices, it should increase the cost of price-controlled bread by 6.5 percent. However, 2.5 percent of this is supposed to go toward efficiency measures – allowing for only a 4 percent increase for bakeries.