Wheat imports seen to rise on higher bread demand

It’s a quarter before seven in the morning. A queue starts to form in front of RJS bakery in Barangay Barangka Drive in Mandaluyong City.

- JASPER EMMANUEL ARCALAS

The scent of the freshly baked pandesal stretches far longer than the line of people waiting for their breakfast rolls along Busilak Street.

A man orders P30 of “tostado” while another customer requests for P50 of “puti.” The former being a bread roll toasted all the way around akin to coffee gradients while the latter contrasting it: a softer, fluffier and white on the surface variant of pandesal.

Each customer seeks different varieties of the bread, from “medyo puti,” “puti” to “katamtaman” and “tostado.” 

The lowly pandesal – a staple in Filipino breakfast, usually partnered with freshly brewed coffee – together with other bread products are seen to drive the country’s wheat imports in the current market year 2024-2025 as domestic consumption recovers.