A hike in the cost of wheat is alarming French households who fear a possible rise in the price of the prized baguette, seen by many as a barometer of the country91裸聊视频檚 economic health.

Many boulangeries around France are putting up signs, warning customers that the long, crunchy staple could be going up in price by 3 to 5 centimes (4 to 6 cents), from its average of about 89 centimes (just over $1).

91裸聊视频淎lthough that might not seem like a lot, it91裸聊视频檚 a huge increase. The baguette is precious. It has only gone up 23 centimes in the last 20 years,91裸聊视频� said Dominique Anract, president of the French Confederation of Bakeries and Pastry Shops.

The bread industry crunch has been linked to a 30% worldwide increase since September in the price of wheat 91裸聊视频� one of the baguette91裸聊视频檚 key ingredients 91裸聊视频� after bad harvests in Russia, Anract said. that are making ovens more expensive to operate are also a factor, Anract and other experts say, with businesses and consumers worldwide already feeling the heat of higher prices from supply chain and labor constraints.

Energy prices are affecting the Italian food chain, too, with expectations they will push up the cost of drying grains. That could eventually raise the price of bread and pasta at supermarkets, but meat and dairy aisles are even more vulnerable as beef and dairy farmers are forced to pay more for grain to feed their animals and pass the cost along to customers.

France91裸聊视频檚 67 million people are voracious consumers of the baguette. The country91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淏read Observatory91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� a venerable institution that closely follows the fortunes of the famed 65-centimeter (26-inch) loaf 91裸聊视频� notes that the French munch through 320 baguettes every second. That91裸聊视频檚 an average of half a baguette per person per day and 10 billion every year.

91裸聊视频淓ven three centimes higher is dire when played out nationwide,91裸聊视频� Anract said. 91裸聊视频淭he baguette is our emblem, our symbol, the thermometer of our economy. It91裸聊视频檚 perhaps like Britain91裸聊视频檚 pint of milk. It can never go beyond one euro.91裸聊视频�

Marc Cohen, a 35-year-old father of two, said outside his local baker in the Le Marais area of central Paris that rising baguette prices 91裸聊视频渨ould be a pain in the neck. Costs are going up everywhere. Even 5 centimes is a lot because we get one every day. That adds up over the year, and next year it will probably be the same.91裸聊视频�

Calling it 91裸聊视频渄epressing news,91裸聊视频� 43-year-old engineer Franck Nguyen said 91裸聊视频渢he baguette is an institution in France. If the price goes up by too much, there will be big opposition.91裸聊视频�

Although the baguette seems like the quintessential French product, it was said to have been invented by Vienna-born baker August Zang in 1839. Zang put in place France91裸聊视频檚 steam oven, making it possible to produce bread with a brittle crust yet fluffy interior.

The product91裸聊视频檚 zenith did not come until the 1920s, with the advent of a French law preventing bakers from working before 4 a.m. The baguette91裸聊视频檚 long, thin shape meant it could be made more quickly than its stodgy cousins, so it was the sole bread that bakers could make in time for breakfast.

French Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot has even nominated the baguette for a place on UNESCO91裸聊视频檚 Intangible Cultural Heritage List next year.

Baguettes are such serious business that bread observers say bakers around France are willing to sacrifice other bread products to maintain the price of the baguette, by spreading around extra costs.

That worries 24-year-old student Sandrine Boyer. She said she spends most of her bakery money on products other than baguettes and hopes 91裸聊视频渢hat the price of the breads in general will not go up as well.91裸聊视频�

Bread has often stirred French passions. Marie Antoinette91裸聊视频檚 famously misattributed quote, 91裸聊视频淟et them eat cake,91裸聊视频� was one of the supposed triggers of the 1789 French Revolution.

Yet Anract was sanguine about the immediate future.

91裸聊视频淚n the Revolution, there was a penury of bread, there was not enough of it,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚t wasn91裸聊视频檛 about the price of bread. We91裸聊视频檙e not at that stage yet!91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频擳homas Adamson, The Associated Press