“These increases in commodity prices are putting pressure on producers to pass on additional costs to consumers. As a result, Christmas cake and sweet prices have increased by almost 20%. For example, the price of Bolo-rei has increased by around one euro compared to last year”, the Association of Commerce and Industry of Bakery, Pastry and Similar (ACIP) told ECO.

Confeitaria Petúlia, located in the Boavista area (Porto), famous for bolo-rei, did not increase the price last year, set at 20 euros per kilo. However, this Christmas the product may become a little more expensive, although the final price has not been defined. “We are talking about making some adjustment to the final price for the consumer (mainly at Bolo-rei), nothing that will reflect the increase we have felt,” says Filipe Moreira, pastry chef at the Confeitaria founded in 1972 by Ilídio and Maria Amélia Pinto.

Filipe Moreira details that the sultanas (the kind of raisins used in king cake), which normally come from Turkey, have an “absurd” price. “Last year we bought sultanas for two euros a kilo and now we are buying them for five euros”, he says. During December, Confeitaria Petúlia sells more than ten thousand units of bolo-rei, although it also sells the product all year round, as it is the star product.