Wednesday June 27, 1:05 pm Eastern Time
Quaker Oats raises ready-to-eat cereal prices
biz.yahoo.com
CHICAGO, June 27 (Reuters) - Quaker Oats Co. (NYSE:OAT - news), following the lead set by competitor General Mills Inc. (NYSE:GIS - news), said Wednesday it has raised the prices of its ready-to-eat cereal line by an average of 3 percent.
The higher prices, which began on June 20, come in response to a rise in overall manufacturing costs, including commodities and packaging, company spokesman Mark Dollins said. The price increase, which does not include bagged cereals, affects about 80 percent of Chicago-based Quaker's ready-to-eat cereal line, Dollins said.
General Mills, the No. 1 U.S. cereal maker, recently raised its cold cereal prices by about 2 percent. On a conference call Wednesday morning to discuss quarterly earnings, General Mills executives said other competitors, including Kellogg Co. (NYSE:K - news), had also boosted prices to counter rising costs. |
