MILWAUKEE — Red Star Yeast Co. and Lesaffre Yeast Corp. will increase the price of U.S. and Canadian fresh and dry yeast, as well as a variety of baking and food ingredients, effective Jan. 1, 2013, or as existing contracts expire.

The companies said they will raise the price of fresh cream yeast by 2c per lb, fresh compressed yeast by 4c per lb, and dry baker’s yeast in all forms by 8c per lb. Baking and food ingredients will increase on average 5%.

“Despite gains in productivity and efficiency gained through aggressive capital investment programs over the last few years, rapidly rising commodity and ingredient costs related to the volatile U.S. agricultural markets, plus distribution expenses, have to be addressed through price adjustments,” said John Riesch, president of both companies. “I am keenly aware of the multiple cost challenges facing our key bakery market, therefore our pricing action is short of the added cost of yeast and ingredient processing for the coming year.”