The Serbian government on Friday set the ceiling for the price of bread in a bid to help the country's growing number of poor people, reported Monsters and Critics.

Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic's cabinet issued a decree limiting the price of the cheapest bread at 54 dinars (0.74 dollars) for a 600-gram loaf.

It also ordered bakeries to allocate at least 40 per cent of their output to the production of cheap bread, or face fines of up to 2 million dinars and a 12-month suspension of their work permit.

The decree is to remain in effect until September 30, the government said in a statement.

The country's bakers union says that, because of rising costs, the price of the cheapest loaf of bread should not go below 70 dinars.