The Government on February 6 will examine the initiative to lend 27,000 tonnes of wheat from the state reserve to bakeries so as to prevent increases in bread prices, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vasile Bumacov has told Info-Prim Neo. The enterprises will return the wheat to the state from the new harvest. Vasile Bumacov denied that the largest bakery SA “Franzeluta”, in which the state has a majority holding, has raised the prices of bread. However, when contacted by Info-Prim Neo, the sellers in a number of shops said at least two types of bread come from the bakery at higher prices. The minister explained that there were launched several new types of products whose prices are different. The official also said that neither the quantity nor the nomenclature for the production of social bread was reduced. The problem is that this category of bakery products does not reach some of the suburban settlements of Chisinau municipality in the necessary quantities. “We asked the administration of “Franzeluta” to review and improve the distribution process,” stated Vasile Bumacov. Since the start of this year, the price of wheat on the home market has increased by about 20%, from 3,500 lei to 4,200 lei a tonne. The price of flour rose from 5,000 lei to 6,000 lei a tonne. Specialists said this is due to the low wheat harvests obtained in 2012 and the rise in the VAT from 8% to 20% on January 1, 2013. The wheat prices also went up at regional commodity exchanges, where a tonne of wheat is sold for US$340.