OVER 100 bakeries have indicated that they will be raising bread prices by up to 20 per cent, following a jump in flour prices.

The bakeries, many of them small family-run shops, are members of the Singapore Bakery and Confectionery Trade Association. It represents about a quarter of the estimated 400 bakeries here.

Bakers that The Straits Times spoke to yesterday said they were reeling from not only the cost of flour, but price increases for other bakery ingredients such oil, sugar and dairy products like butter.

On average, the bakery association's chairman Liow Kian Huat said, the cost of ingredients has risen by 50 per cent, and many bakers cannot continue to absorb the increases. The hike of up to 20 per cent is 'reasonable', he argued.

A worldwide shortage of wheat - caused by severe droughts and crop delays in Australia, the United States and Canada - has seen prices rising nearly 74 per cent since January.

It has hit more than US$8 ($11.65) a bushel in US markets, up from about US$6.50 per bushel in May.

The knock-on effects have been felt widely. For instance, the price of bread flour here has gone from $20.50 per 25kg in July to $28 this month.

The Singapore Noodles Manufacturers Association has also given notice that its members will be raising their prices by 20 to 30 cents per kg.

Reaction was mixed among hawkers and retailers polled yesterday.

Bread sold at supermarket chains NTUC FairPrice and Cold Storage, for instance, now costs more after suppliers raised prices between July and late last month.

Bakery chain Angie the Choice will increase its prices by 10 per cent from Nov 15.

Said its finance manager Nancy Goh: 'Raw materials have been increasing in price for the past two years and our company has been absorbing the costs, but this is no longer feasible.'

Some hawkers also said they would set a one-time price hike of 50 cents to try to offset some of their costs.

But most - despite complaining about the hikes - said they would take a wait-and-see approach. So bread prices will remain steady for now at some larger chains such as Four Leaves, BreadTalk, and Polar Puffs and Cakes.

But the problem is that there is no relief in sight from the surging prices, said retailers and hawkers yesterday.

Summing up the sentiment, Mr Ronnie Chua, 53, who owns a seafood soup stall at the Bishan bus interchange, said he is considering a 50-cent increase.

But he is worried: 'The question is whether the public is ready to accept the price increase. If they are not ready, our business is going to be severely affected.'

Restaurants, meanwhile, will keep prices steady for now, said Restaurant Association of Singapore president Ang Kiam Meng. He said: 'We can absorb higher costs at first, but when things get too expensive, sooner or later we will have to adjust.'

A FairPrice spokesman said it expects its suppliers to increase prices of flour and instant noodles soon, but said it would do its best to hold prices for as long as it could.