By Assan Bah
The Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment has announced that the price of bread will remain at D10 per loaf, effectively halting a proposed 50 percent hike that had sparked public concern earlier this year.
The decision, disclosed in a press statement on Tuesday, follows weeks of consultations between the Ministry, the Gambia Bakers’ Union (GBU), the Gambia Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (GCCPC), and the Consumer Consortium. The consultations began after the GBU in March floated the possibility of raising the price of a loaf from D10 to D15, citing rising input costs.
In response, the Trade Ministry convened a multi-stakeholder taskforce—including representatives from the Ministry, GCCPC, and the Bakers’ Union—to gather empirical data on the production cost structure of bread across the country. According to the ministry, data was collected from 48 bakeries producing “Senfur” and “Tapalapa,” the two most consumed bread types in The Gambia.
“The presented data clearly revealed that the proposed increase in the price of bread by the Bakers’ Union could not be empirically supported,” the Ministry said in the statement, noting that the findings were shared with senior trade officials and GBU representatives on May 7.
As a result, the Ministry reaffirmed that the official price of bread will remain unchanged at D10 per loaf nationwide. It also pledged to intensify monitoring of bread production and distribution to ensure accessibility of the staple commodity for the general population.
“The Ministry will continue to engage stakeholders in the value chain for amicable and lasting solutions,” the statement added, emphasizing that any future pricing decisions must align with national quality standards set by the Gambia Standards Bureau.
