The confectionery and bakery industry has moved to cut prices of bread and cakes. The measure is seen as a response to President Lee Jae Myung's call that the benefits of lower raw material prices, such as sugar, should be passed on to consumers. CJ CheilJedang decided to further reduce flour prices.

Paris Baguette said on the 26th that starting on the 13th of next month it will cut the recommended retail prices of six types of bread, including red bean bread and streusel bread, by 100~1,000 won, and five types of cakes by up to 10,000 won.

Paris Baguette also plans to launch a 1,000-won ‘value-for-money’ croissant next month. A Paris Baguette official said, “Although ongoing cost increases pose challenges, we decided to lower prices on some products to reduce the burden on consumers and to join the price-stability trend.”

Tous Les Jours, operated by CJ Foodville, also announced that it will reduce the supply prices of 17 items, including bread and cakes, by an average of 8.2% as of today. A CJ Foodville official said, “Following the reduction in flour prices, we will lower bread prices as well to deliver a tangible price-cut effect to consumers and actively contribute to stabilizing prices.”

Earlier, President Lee Jae Myung, at a Cabinet meeting on the 24th, in relation to the Korea Fair Trade Commission achieving results in its collusion probe into livelihood items such as sugar and flour, emphasized, “They say the price of sugar has fallen by 16.5%, but if products that use sugar keep their prices unchanged so that consumers receive no benefit and companies monopolize the results of the Korea Fair Trade Commission’s hard work, that must not be allowed.”

CJ CheilJedang, which is under investigation by the Korea Fair Trade Commission over alleged flour price collusion along with Daehan Flour Mills and Samyang Corporation, announced today that it will further cut the prices of its business-use (B2B) and consumer-use (B2C) flour products by an average of 5%.

This reduction follows earlier cuts of an average 4% for business-use flour and 5.5% for consumer-use flour. Joo Byung-gi, Chair of the Korea Fair Trade Commission, expressed at the National Assembly on the 23rd the view that it seems appropriate to reduce flour prices by at least around 10%.