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Wheat Prices Raise Concerns

http://ozarkspub.vo.llnwd.net/o37/KSMU/audio/mp3/wheatprice_365.mp3

The price of wheat has tripled in the past 10 months and local Bakeries and Restaurants are feeling the pinch of flour.

Reporter Erika Brame talked with one bakery about the effects of this increase on the local market.

The fresh scent of warm baked cookies permeates the walls of Julie's Chewies Gourmet Sweet Shop.

Cookie Monster, Batman, and I Love Lucy cookie jars litter the shop's shelves.

Co-Owner, LaVerne Cantrell, wearing her baking apron, invited me to the back of the shop to show just how important flour and wheat are to her bakery.

She says she is facing tough times in part because American wheat is now being exported to new countries, such as China.

Coupled with that a shift to ethanol has caused a spike in wheat prices.

"Plus they talked, you know all the wheat farmers into doing corn for ethanol but what they didn't tell them was that the cost of pesticides for was much higher than wheat corps. And the ethanol is not working out like they thought. So by taking the wheat farmers into corn farmers it has really hurt the wheat crop."

She says she doesn't want her customers to have to bite the extra cost.

"Well right now we are eating the cost of the wheat increase, if it gets much higher than I am going to have to pass that on to the consumer."

A rise in the price of wheat isn't the only issue facing American pockets right now.

The price of eggs has more than doubled, along with the always increasing gas prices.

Cantrell says she has had to take on the extra costs of gas and eggs.

"But eggs have went from, you know you used to be able to buy 15 dozen for you know $9.00, $10.00 and it's any where from $28.00 to $35.00 for the same amount of eggs."

She says if her next shipment of flour is higher than she can afford she will have to increase her cookie prices.

For KSMU News I'm Erika Brame.