Filipino bakers to turn out cheaper pan de sal

Consumers are in for a treat: Cheaper pan de sal may soon go with their morning coffee.

The Philippine Baking Industry Group (PhilBaking), Filipino-Chinese Bakery Association Inc., and Philippine Federation of Bakeries Association Inc. will launch next week a variety of pan de sal that will be priced at least P5 lower than the 10-piece packs sold in supermarkets.

According to PhilBaking president Simplicio Umali Jr., a 10-piece pack of regular pan de sal is priced between P30 and P40 in supermarkets and groceries, with each piece weighing about 25 to 35 grams. The Pinoy Pan de Sal, on the other hand, will sell for P25 per 10-piece pack, weighing 250 grams or 25 grams apiece.

Umali said bakers would be providing subsidies for the Pinoy Pan de Sal to keep its price low, and would also remove premium ingredients from the mix.

Branded pan de sal, he explained, has a lot of extra ingredients, such as vitamins and flavor enhancers. The Pinoy Pan de Sal will just contain basic bread ingredients.

Also, instead of using refined sugar, priced at around P44 a kilogram, bakers will use washed sugar for the Pinoy Pan de Sal, Umali said.

The Pinoy Pan de Sal will be formally launched by the Department of Trade and Industry on Oct. 6 and will be available for sale by Oct. 11 in supermarkets, groceries and convenience stores.

During its first year on sale, Umali said the Pinoy Pan de Sal should corner 10 percent of the overall pan de sal market. By the second year, it should account for 20 percent of overall pan de sal demand.

The Pinoy Tasty, a cheaper generic loaf of bread also being offered by members of the bakers’ groups, now commands a 15-20 percent share of the loaf bread market, he said.

“We want people to be able to afford bread again. Price-conscious consumers now have an alternative. We hope this will boost bread demand,” Umali said in a phone interview.

In an earlier interview, he said PhilBaking would seek a discounted rate for a specific volume of flour to be sold to local bakers, to enable them to maintain the price of the generic Pinoy Tasty.

The proposal was submitted to the Philippine Association of Flour Millers last month. But the millers have yet to respond.