Argentina: Bread prices up on wheat shortage
Argentine bread price rise from wheat shortage leads government to consider suspending exports
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- The worst wheat harvest in Argentina's history is causing a bread shortage.
Wheat is more valued than ever at bakeries in the South American country, where the government is now evaluating whether to suspend exports. The cost of bread has more than doubled in the last month to almost $4 per kilogram.
Argentina's 2012-13 wheat production fell to 9 million metric tons. That was down from 14 million tons a year earlier.
Leaders of the country's farming industry on Tuesday blamed the worst harvest in over a century on the government's agricultural policies. Those include export curbs to ensure local food supply.
Argentina is one the world's top wheat exporters and sends most of the grain to its neighbor Brazil.
