The labor rectification process has resulted in a number of bakeries closing down, according to a local businessman.

Mohammad Al-Shehri, a member of the national committee for bakeries at the Council of Saudi Chambers, said that the increasing pressure resulted in the closure of about 50 percent of the bakeries in the Western Province last month.

In the Eastern Province, bakeries are suffering from low profits, higher operating expenses, labor shortages and high license fees. These factors are resulting in investors threatening to pull out of the market.

Al-Shehri said that the rectification process would affect seasonal production and lead to shortages.

He said a further problem concerns the quality of imported flour as it does not equal that of locally produced flour, which will be stopped by 2016.

He said there is talk about decreasing the number of loaves, and lessening their weight, which would lower consumption.

He said that average consumption in Ramadan increases during the middle of the month. He said the Western Region has the highest production and consumption.

He said that there were 1,800 small and large bakeries in the Western Region. The labor rectification process, together with reduced consumption has reflected negatively on many of them and forced some of the big ones to close down.