AFTER putting up retail outlets in poor areas for cheap rice, the government will also be opening today stores for low-priced bread products in select impoverished communities.

Trade Secretary Peter Favila said the so-called “Tinapay ng Bayan” program will debut today in 11 barangays with the help of the Department of Agriculture, the Chamber of Philippine Flour Millers and the Philippine Association of Flour Millers.

Right now, pan de sal is being sold for P2 to P2.50 per piece in bakeries and loaf bread for as much as P44 to P54 in groceries and public markets. 

In the Tinapay ng Bayan stores, bread will be sold at a much lower price, with pan de sal at P12 for 180g pack-of-seven, while 550g loaf bread is pegged at P37.

“This gesture initiated by the flour millers shows to the public that the government and the private sector are continuously working together to see to it that the price of basic goods and prime commodities remain at affordable levels,” Favila said.

The initial communities to benefit from the program are barangay Baesa in Asamba Homes, Novaliches, Quezon City; barangay Capri, Novaliches; Road 9 corner Road 11, Bagong Pag-asa, Quezon City; barangay Signal Village, Electronics Avenue FTI Complex, Taguig  City; barangay 129, Smokey Mountain Community Association Inc., Balut, Tondo; Kabaka MPCI, A. Linao Street, Paco, Manila; barangay 198 Aeroville, Airlane Road, Naia Pasay City; barangay 97, Jolummar MPC, 10th Avenue, Grace Park, Caloocan City; Nangka Workers MPC, Makabayan Street, Nangka, Marikina; Pederasyon Samahang  Nagkakaisang Maralita ng Navotas, Inc.(Sanagmana); barangay Tanza, Navotas City, and Spectrum Midway Extension corner Corporate Avenue, Alabang, Muntinlupa.

Favila said a total of 2,000 loaves and 1,000 packs of pan de sal will be delivered on the first day of the sale and the volume will increase depending on the demand.

Aside from the Tinapay ng Bayan program, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is also pushing for the use of alternatives to wheat flour such as coconut flour, squash flour, cassava and sweet potato flour.

Favila said studies conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute revealed that coconut flour is good for diabetics and weight-conscious people because it has the highest percentage of dietary fiber (58 percent) found in any flour, and with squash flour, pan de sal will be more nutritious and vitamin A-enriched.

In the mediumterm, the DTI-attached agency Philippine Trade Training Center will be coming up with a training program for bakers aimed at improving productivity and efficiency.

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