Bakers: Expensive electricity will raise price of pastries
Increased electricity bills are eating away at the stocks entrepreneurs have managed to save up during the coronavirus crisis. Bakeries say that rising energy, raw material and labor prices will eventually lead to higher product prices.
Sports club and waterpark Reval Sport is on a stock exchange price contract for electricity and board member Aldur Parasjuk told ETV's daily affairs show "Aktuaalne kaamera" on Monday that the bill for December caused several sleepless nights.
"We received the bill and we were shocked. The bill made up more than 50 percent of our revenue and that was six figures. It was more than €100,000. Utility bills totaled more than €100,000," Parasjuk noted.
He said maintaining a water park is especially expensive. "Yes, water needs to be heated, the pumps are working. I cannot give you an exact number, but the bill would have been significantly lower without a water park," the Reval Sport board member said.
The Pagaripoisid chain of bakeries has an electricity contract, which is partly on exchange prices and partly fixed. Their electricity bill went up two and a half times to €2,500, they paid close to €6,000 for gas.
"No company can expect bills to go up this much as drastic changes happen. Unfortunately, it has also affected our product prices. Raw materials have also increased some 30 percent, we have also increased labor costs by 10-15 percent," Pagaripoisid board chair Meelis Pärn said.
He said prices are looked at per products, but some had to be increased at the start of the year.
The Kalamaja Pagarikoda bakery in Tallinn did a little better as they are on a fixed-price electricity contract. While they had to sign an increased contract in the summer, it seems more than reasonable now.
"As you can expect, soaring electricity prices will have an effect on other areas such as labor, transport, raw materials. It will eventually hit us too, no matter the contract you have been able to sign," said Kalamaja Pagarikoda board member Karle Rahu.
Bakers do not expect the government to provide any more aid. Reval Sport manager Aldur Parasjuk wants restrictions to be eased.
"We do not want any kind of compensation. We want to go back to a time when people who came to sports clubs could take a rapid test. If we could get those people back, we might be able to manage until spring," he said.
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Editor: Kristjan Kallaste
