Budapest, Sept 3 - Bread prices are rising globally due to higher grain prices and this trend is set to continue, the International Union of Bakers and Bakers-Confectioners said on Monday.
Wheat futures hit all-time highs last week in Europe and the United States on persistent worries over tight global supplies and strong export demand.
"I think that consumers need to (accept) that bread and milk and other products are more expensive than in the past," President Bert Kolkman told Reuters on the sidelines of the union's meeting in Budapest.
Bread and grain prices are rising due to higher demand from Asia and from biofuel makers, which turn wheat and maize into car fuel and compete with food makers for grain, he said.
"It is the structural price, I don't think it will go down in the future," said the head of the international group with headquarters in Switzerland.
Kolkman said the union's meeting showed the trend was similar around Europe and in the Americas.
"For example, I am from Holland and I have my own bakery. Last Monday I raised my prices by 10 percent," he said.
"It's in every country in Europe," he said.