Pandesal ‘shrinkflation’: rising costs are making ‘poor man’s bread’ smaller in the Philippines

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other inflation pressures have caused a spike in the cost of ingredients used to make a breakfast staple in the Philippines. The soft, buttery rolls called pandesal or “salt bread” are also known locally as “poor man’s bread” because they are so inexpensive. But their low price has forced many bakeries into a difficult choice of either eating the higher cost of flour, sugar and salt used to make them, or shrinking the size of the rolls so it makes economic sense to keep producing them.