Craig Ponsford Warns of Significant Cost Increases for Bread and Other Baked Goods as Global Demand Pushes the Price of Flour to a 10-Year High.

SAN FRANCISCO -- In the press release dated Feb. 14, 2007, the source should be Craig Ponsford, Aritsan Bakers (sted Bread Bakers Guild of America.)

The corrected release reads:

CRAIG PONSFORD WARNS OF SIGNIFICANT COST INCREASES FOR BREAD AND OTHER BAKED GOODS AS GLOBAL DEMAND PUSHES THE PRICE OF FLOUR TO A 10-YEAR HIGH

Craig Ponsford, owner of Artisan Bakers in Sonoma and chairman of the Bread Bakers Guild of America, warned today that bakers may be forced to raise substantially the price of bread and other baked goods due to the soaring price of flour.

"After years of steady rates, the price of flour has skyrocketed over the past six to nine months," said Ponsford. "Bakeries already operate on extremely slim margins, and this ongoing increase in the price of flour has put a stranglehold on bakers, leaving them little choice but to raise prices."

Ponsford, a 15-year veteran of the baking industry, pointed to the rising flour costs to increased global demand, which he describes as "dramatic." That increased demand, coupled with a poor North American wheat crop, pushed the price of flour to a 10-year high in July of 2006 -- up 30% over the previous year -- and it has remained at that peak, a virtually unprecedented situation for a market in which price spikes are traditionally short-lived.

The possible price increases will not only affect consumers at the supermarket, but will also have a significant impact on the wholesale market in the U.S., including an increase in the cost of baked goods supplied to restaurants and other food services entities.

"If there are continued price increases -- and it appears inevitable that there will be -- it will be felt across the board," said Ponsford.

Ponsford attributes the current situation to a confluence of events, including poor harvests in the U.S. and Canada this past year, a drought in Australia that cut that country's production in half, and the resultant increased demand from China, for whom Australia is the major supplier.

"As the 'breadbasket of the world,' America has enjoyed relatively stable wheat and flour prices since the end of World War II," said Ponsford. "But as we are increasingly affected by the forces of globalization, and in ways we don't yet entirely understand, we may be facing a whole new ballgame."

Craig Ponsford owns Artisan Bakers in Sonoma, a bakery where the bread, Danishes and desserts are made from scratch daily. As a member of Bread Bakers Guild Team USA 1996, Mr. Ponsford's bread guaranteed the team the gold-medal at the prestigious Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie, an international baking competition held annually in France.

Ponsford is also the chairman of the Bread Bakers Guild of America, an organization established in 1993 to foster the growth of artisan baking and the production of high quality breads. It is a non-profit education alliance of professional bakers, baking educators, home bakers and ingredient and equipment suppliers. The organization presents seminars for continuing education and professional development for artisan bakers and trains young people interested in careers as bread baking professionals.