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Article: Drought Affects Costs for U.S. Commercial Bakeries.
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
- Article date:
- November 27, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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By Harold Brubaker, The Philadelphia Inquirer Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Nov. 27--For commercial bakeries across the country, this year's drought is hitting the bottom line.
With the shortage of rain bringing poor wheat harvests in the Midwest and other major wheat-growing regions worldwide, flour prices are up 20 percent or more since the summer to their highest levels in five years.
The higher cost is especially hard on small baking companies, such as Philadelphia Soft Pretzels Inc. in Feltonville -- where workers twist 30,000 to 35,000 pretzels a day by hand.
"We're going to probably be taking a loss for the next six ...