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COST OF LIVING

German bakeries fight for survival as costs spiral

Faced with exploding energy and ingredient costs, German baker Tobias Exner has installed new energy-efficient ovens, shortened his opening hours and even considered baking at lower temperatures.

German bakeries fight for survival as costs spiral
Photo: Pixabay.

But “it just doesn’t taste the same without a good crust”, he said, adding that in any case such efforts could do little to counter the existential crisis he and other bakers are facing.

“If the conditions don’t change, then sooner or later a large share of bakeries in Germany will simply no longer exist,” Exner told AFP.

Bakeries in Germany have been among the businesses hardest hit by the economic fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The war has sent energy prices spiralling across Europe, but especially in Germany, which was previously heavily dependent on Russian gas.

“Bakeries all have ovens. Seventy percent of artisanal bakeries have gas ovens and gas prices are going through the roof,” said Friedemann Berg, managing director of the German Bakers’ Federation.

And two of the main ingredients used by bakers — flour and oil — are among those that have been affected by blockades at Ukrainian ports.

Exner’s business is relatively large with 220 staff and 36 branches in Berlin and the surrounding area, leaving it better placed than many to survive the crisis — but even he is struggling.

Wheat is now 2.5 times more expensive than before the crisis, he said, while the cost of a litre of oil has risen from around 82 cents to more than three euros ($2.91).

Dough in the dark

Energy bills for the business, meanwhile, have almost quadrupled compared with 2020.

“You can see that the calculations no longer work,” Exner said to the hum of machines at the company’s main production site in the town of Beelitz.

But Exner is reluctant to pass the cost increases on to his customers, who he simply believes “would not pay those kinds of prices”.

In central Berlin, the mood on the ground appears to confirm his fears.

“Even more? No way. It’s getting extortionate,” said unemployed Gloria Thomas, 56, when asked whether she would be prepared to pay more for her favourite loaf.

Many bakeries in Germany have already gone under as a result of recent cost increases, with others staging protests to demand urgent help from the government.

And there is more at stake than just bread rolls, according to Exner.

“These businesses are often the most important institution in the village — they are at once grocery store, social centre, post office, etc.”

In early September, around 800 German bakeries served customers in the dark for a day to draw attention to their plight.

Insolvency blunder

Germany’s centre-left government has announced relief measures worth almost 100 billion euros to tackle inflation, but small businesses have so far been largely excluded from the help.

Worse still, they were left feeling insulted by controversial comments by Economy Minister Robert Habeck earlier this month.

Asked on a TV panel show whether he thought Germany was heading for a wave of insolvencies, Habeck replied: “I can imagine that certain industries will simply stop producing for a while.”

The comments provoked anger from bakers in particular, who accused Habeck of having no understanding of their industry.

“Habeck is probably not a stupid person, but the question is, is he qualified for the job he has right now? And I would say no,” said Exner.

The Bakers’ Confederation is calling for “quick and unbureaucratic” financial aid.

Bakeries can shave off costs here and there but they “can only do so much”, according to Berg.

If government help does not arrive soon “the future looks bleak,” he said. “It could be that many businesses have to give up their operations or simply file for bankruptcy.”

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HEALTH

How much more residents in Germany might have to pay for health insurance

People in Germany saw an increase in health insurance costs at the start of the year. It's now expected that they will be hiked up again next year.

How much more residents in Germany might have to pay for health insurance

Health insurance organisations are warning that costs will be hiked up again soon due to concerns over funding. 

Doris Pfeiffer, CEO of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds (GKV-Spitzenverband), told Germany’s Tagesschau that insurance funds are expecting a billion-euro deficit.

She said it was a tough year “because we don’t have particularly good prospects”.

For people paying statutory health insurance, things could become more expensive next year. Around 90 percent of people in Germany are covered by statutory health insurance.

The contribution rate is fixed by law and stands at 14.6 percent. The additional contribution that the health insurance funds set for their members was raised to 1.7 at the start of this year. 

The latest increase gave statutory insurance funds the ability to charge up to 1.7 percent on top of the standard 14.6 precent contrinution, though not all insurance funds chose to do so.

The costs are split between the employer and employee, so workers in Germany would pay half of any increase. 

READ ALSO: Reader question: How can I change my German health insurance provider?

How much could additional costs rise next year?

Due to the funding issues, health insurers expect an increase of up to 0.6 percentage points to the additional contribution threshold. What this would mean for the insured depends on a few variables such as their income and their insurer.

Someone earning €2,000 gross per month, for example, would have to pay €6 extra per month if their insurer opted to increase additional contributions by this amount. Meanwhile, a gross income of €4,000 would mean €12 extra per month. The employer’s share would be added to this. 

health insurance cards

Many health insurance cards in Germany double as a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), meaning that they can be used across Europe. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Jens Kalaene

“That may not sound like much at first glance,” said Pfeiffer. “But there are people who earn very little for whom this is a lot – supermarket cashiers, lorry drivers.”

It comes following a rise in fees at the start of the year. From the start of 2024, additional contributions for statutory health insurance rose by around 0.1 percent in Germany.

Why are costs increasing?

The German healthcare system is one of the most expensive in the world.

As German society ages more, costs continue to rise – and the Covid pandemic didn’t help matters. The National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds estimates that this year alone it will cost around €314 billion to provide care for everyone who is insured. 

The money is mainly spent on hospitalisation costs and medical treatment.

READ ALSO: Why long-term care insurance fees are likely to rise in Germany next year

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) has so far not presented any concrete proposals on how he intends to relieve the burden on health insurance funds in future.

Instead, the system is likely to face further expenditure. Lauterbach’s hospital reform is expected to drive up costs, while proposals to pay GPs more in order to combat the shortage of doctors would also push up expenses. 

READ ALSO: German ministers greenlight plan to improve healthcare at GPs

Pfeiffer called for a plan to tackle the rising costs.

“We now finally need an approach that puts this healthcare system on a new footing,” she said.

In the coalition government’s initial agreement back in 2021, the parties vowed to support health insurance funds with more tax revenue.

But as difficult budget negotiations take place, it doesn’t look like this will happen. 

This is causing friction among the coalition made up of the Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and Free Democrats (FDP). 

Green budget politician Paula Piechotta, for instance, is unhappy about this.

The opposition CDU/CSU also taken the opportunity to swipe at the government.

“This is not acceptable,” said CDU health politician Sepp Müller. “The tense situation in the social security system cannot continue to be ignored.”

However, it should be noted that there was no plan to help provide more money to statutory health insurance under the previous Health Ministry headed by the CDU’s Jens Spahn. 

When the SPD’s Lauterbach took over in 2021, there was already a funding gap of billions of euros. 

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