The Centre for Rural Studies and Enrichment at St. Peter's College in Muenster, Sask., recently updated a 1991 study that compared producer, processor and consumer prices in the 1980s. The update found the wheat in a 675-gram, or 1.5 pound loaf of bread was worth three cents in 1971, nine cents in 1973 and 11 cents in 1999. Its share of the bread's value had been cut in half. University of Saskatchewan agricultural economist Hartley Furtan suggests several reasons why the gap is increasing. There is more choice, and choice costs money.
Supermarkets offer many bread varieties, such as white, whole wheat, sourdough and French.
There is more cost to produce them. He said one of the increased costs is the labor required to process more products. Agriculture Canada notes that 280,000 Canadian farms produce food, but 1.9 million Canadians work to get that food to consumer tables. Paying the price Saskatoon agrologist Al Scholz pays twice the price for some products at a favorite bakery than he would pay at a large grocery store. They're looking for quality, value and consistency.