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Food packs slim down, prices swell

Processors grapple with soaring costs of raw materials
SUKANTA HALDER
Food processors in Bangladesh have either cut the size of packs or increased prices to absorb the surging cost of raw materials, handing a blow to end customers already struggling amid higher inflation.
As a result, consumers are either getting less for the products whose prices have not been revised upwards or paying more for the products that have seen no change in weight.
Prices of the ingredients used in making bakery products, cakes, sweets, chips, Bombay mix and ice creams have gone up owing to demand recovery and supply chain disruptions globally, forcing both brands and non-brands in Bangladesh to opt for reducing pack sizes or revising prices.
The prices of flour, sugar, edible oil and milk have risen by 30-60 per cent in the last six months, industry people say.
This has prompted bakeries to cut the weight of items such as cakes, biscuits and bread by as low as 5 per cent to as high as 60 per cent.
Pran-RFL Group has gone for weight reduction instead of raising prices and its products with a reduced size hit the markets three months ago, according to Kamruzzaman Kamal, marketing director of the largest food manufacturer in Bangladesh.
For example, the weight of its Honeycomb bread has been reduced to 65 grammes from 75g, bun from 50g to 45g, dry cake from 35g to 30g, slice cake from 40g to 35g, and Fruit Fun biscuits from 30g to 24g.
“If we increase the price by keeping the weight unchanged, it will be difficult for consumers to buy the products under the current situation,” Kamal said.
Danish Foods Ltd, owned by Partex Star Group, enforced weight reduction seven months ago.
The size of the 350g toast biscuit pack has been brought down to 250g. Similarly, the family pack biscuits previously weighing 210g to 240g are now available in 165g to 180g packs for the same price.
“We have reduced the size of the packs for both local and export markets,” said Debasish Singha, head of export of Danish Foods Ltd, adding that the price of packaging materials has surged by 20 to 30 per cent recently.
Well Group, which runs a food chain selling sweets, cakes, bread, buns, cookies, biscuits and snacks, reduced the size of the products by 10 to 25 grammes this month.
“There are no alternatives. We are now facing a major challenge because of the rise in the price of raw materials,” said Syed Nurul Islam, chairman and CEO of Well Group.
“Customers will not be able to afford if the price increases under the current circumstances.”
Some companies have raised prices to cope with the rising cost of production.
Igloo, a popular ice cream brand, increased the price of its products on March 1. On average, prices have gone up by 10 to 25 per cent, said Shamim Ahmed, chief operating officer of the company.
For example, Igloo Vanilla Cup Ice Cream was priced at Tk 20 before the latest price adjustment. It is now selling at Tk 25.
Bombay Sweets and Co Ltd, the owner of popular chip brands Potato Crackers, Mr. Twist, Alooz and Bombay mix brand Bombay Sweets, has resized the chips packs and increased the price of Bombay mix.
One and a half years ago, the weight of a pack of Potato Crackers was 25g. The pack size was first reduced to 22g and then again to 18g.
Likewise, a Mr. Twist chip pack weighed 25g and customers are now getting 5 grammes less products, albeit at the same price.
A packet of Bombay Sweets Chanachur used to contain 20 grammes of food items. The pack now weighs 15 grammes. The price has remained unchanged at Tk 5.
The 600g pack has been shrunk to 500gm and the price has increased from Tk 100 to Tk 110.
The price of the 150g Bombay Sweets Dalmoth Chanachur pack has been revised upwards to Tk 45 from Tk 40. It went up to Tk 80 from Tk 60 for the 300g pack.