He's been making bread from 1949 and as one of only two Belizean bakers still doing his thing in the city when Zebedee Pitterson speaks, the bread-eating public listens. The man from Sunnyside Bakery is "bex" with government for putting out a statement which flatly declares that unsliced, unwrapped bread can not sell for more than one dollar. Pitterson says that's a joke because at that price he would not be making once cent on a loaf of bread. And today he challenged the folks form the Price Control Office who put out the release to come and bake bread with him and if they can find a way for him to make a profit on $1 bread, he has a special deal to offer them.
Zebedee Pitterson, Baker
"I want the government to know if we could sell a bread for $1 and I make one cents profit, I agree to make one thousand more for the Belizean public everyday free, and if I can't make no profit the government should give all the money which they got in their pay raise and give it to some charity of Belize. The profit close, very close, and that's why I them to come in and check it because they can't stay in Belmopan and dictate to we and say we have to sell one pound of bread un-sliced for $1. So I want them come check it and see; that is my arrangement. Right now the bakers want us to raise the bread but I don't want to raise the bread because the poor people can't afford to pay for the bread and what I am telling you about, the cost doesn't go by the 2% and things like that, we are saying it can't be made for $1 from time. We could raise the sliced bread but we don't want them to dictate to us and tell us an un-sliced bread should sell for $1 because it can't happen."
Alfonso Noble,
Would you want the price of bread to go up?
Zebedee Pitterson,
"That left to me to raise it but I don't them to dictate to me and tell me you have to sell a bread for $1. That is what I don't want, dictate to you and say a pound of bread for $1. Just like how sliced bread doesn't have control, un-sliced bread shouldn't have control neither; we will take care of it. We won't advantage people, because if we want advantage people we could do it right now. We could afford to sell bread for $1.50 right now but we don't want that. We want them to come in and see a bread cost we more than a $1 to make. They stay in Belmopan and say sell bread for $1 and that unfair."
Pitterson says the price of bread has not gone up from a dollar since 1984 when soft drinks still sold for 75 cents.
