Empty shelves due to excitement, not shortage – bakers' association on the situation with bread in Kyiv

Demand for bread has increased in Kyiv and the region after the recent massive shelling of the capital. Requests from retailers to bakeries increased by 30%-40%.

About LIGA.net said Oleksandr Taranenko, head of the bakers' association.

"If you have seen photos of empty shelves, it is not a result of production disruptions, but of a rush of demand that no one expected. Chains ordered bread as usual, and people bought two or more loaves instead of one," Taranenko explained.

Kyiv and the region are supplied with bread by three major producers – Kyivkhlib, Kulinichi and Tsar Khlib.

A noticeable increase in demand began about a week ago, Taranenko says. After the volume of orders increased, manufacturers still fulfill them.

Yaroslav Fedorenko, CEO of Kyivkhlib, assured that his company was producing bread at full capacity and had not stopped. However, Kyivkhlib was not affected by the hype. If necessary, the company is ready to increase production by 50%-80%

"We fulfill orders in full. There are no signs of increased consumption. Although it is possible that some people have moved away, and those who remain are actually buying more at a time," he says.

The price of bread has not been affected by the rush. However, there are other factors that are driving up the cost of bread: rising electricity costs, logistics, and an increase in the minimum wage. As a result, the cost of bread has increased by about 5% over the past month. Bakers have to raise the price by the same amount to ensure production, Taranenko explains.

Overall, there are 3,000 bakery producers in Ukraine. About 1500 of them are active.

"There are even fewer main industrial enterprises that cover the demand – two or three in each region," Taranenko says.