The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Labor said, Sunday, that there may be a need to raise the limit on the government-controlled price of bread, but that bakers had not requested such a hike as a required first step. Such a request would reflect factors such as the price of wheat purchased abroad, the dollar-shekel exchange rate and the price of fuel oil.

The ministry rejected a recent application for a price hike based on an alternative method involving the bakeries' financial records and the discounts they give to the major supermarket chains.