Hawker food prices go up but never come down!!!
<TABLE id=msgUN cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD id=msgUNsubj vAlign=top>Coffee Shop Talk - It's suppliers who are raising prices </TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
Subscribe </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"></TD><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgF noWrap align=right width="1%">From: </TD><TD class=msgFname noWrap width="68%">BadNews0 <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgDate noWrap align=right width="30%">7:18 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT noWrap align=right width="1%" height=20>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname noWrap width="68%">ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right>(1 of 1) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft width="1%" rowSpan=4></TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>14424.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>HAWKERS SAY
It's suppliers who are raising prices
# Food prices have dropped, but the price of hawker food is still up. Why? We speak to hawkers, suppliers and consumers
# They say prices of rice, flour and fish have gone up
November 26, 2008 Print Ready Email Article
IT was not so long ago that your hawker started charging you 20 cents more for your chicken rice, or started shrinking your bowl of mee pok.
Click to see larger image
Food prices were at record-breaking levels then because your hawker said he couldn't make a decent living by still charging you $2 for a plate of chicken rice or giving you the same amount of mee pok for the same price.
Does that excuse still hold today, with global food prices dropping in recent months? (See report on facing page.)
Is it about time for a price correction?
In a New Paper poll of 30 food stallholders at Lau Pa Sat, Newton Food Centre and Toa Payoh Hub, none said they would cut prices - even though 33 per cent admitted to increasing their cooked-food prices when food prices were high. (See poll results on facing page.)
Why?
Most blamed it on suppliers, claiming that they have not reduced their prices.
There were stallholders who also claimed that some suppliers have even raised prices.
However, suppliers that we spoke to said they have lowered prices or are planning to. (See report at right.)
Mr Shaikh Sujandain, 32, who runs a vegetarian food stall at Lau Pa Sat, said: 'Suppliers have raised the prices of rice and flour by two times.'
Mr Yio Ging, 49, who sells fish dishes at Newton Hawker Centre, agreed. 'The fish supplier has increased prices from $11 per kg to $11.50.'
And Mr Ananda Rao, 46, who sells vegetarian food, said his suppliers have raised the prices of oil and rice by 80 cents in the last six months.
Other costs up
Some stallholders said that even though food supply prices have been dropping, other overheads such as rental costs have been going up.
Madam Rosnah, 49, who sells Muslim food, said: 'Rent only goes up, but not down.'
But are consumers convinced that cooked-food prices should not be cut?
The Government released figures for the consumer price index yesterday.
Food prices rose 7.8 per cent last month over the same period last year, down from an 8.2 per cent rise in September.
So, inflation of food prices may have gone down, but consumers want prices cut further.
Of 30 people we spoke to, almost half felt that it was time hawkers reduce their prices.
Housewife Low Lan Foon, 52, said: 'Prices should be lowered. I feel that hawkers have increased their prices by a lot and they have given customers much less.'
Madam Gloria Yap, 70, a retiree, agreed.
'Hawkers increased their prices when food prices went up, so now that food prices have fallen, they should reduce their prices.'
The Consumers Association of Singapore (Case), too, has urged food operators to reduce their prices now.
Its spokesman said in an e-mail reply to The New Paper: 'Consumers would certainly expect food operators to reduce prices now in view of the falling input prices such as oil, rice and even transport costs.'
Case said it has received 15 complaints about food operators profiteering or overcharging.
But some consumers were sympathetic towards the hawkers.
Mr Sebastian Lee, 47, a manager, said: 'They have to make a living too.'
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<TABLE id=msgUN cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD id=msgUNsubj vAlign=top>Coffee Shop Talk - It's suppliers who are raising prices </TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
It's suppliers who are raising prices
# Food prices have dropped, but the price of hawker food is still up. Why? We speak to hawkers, suppliers and consumers
# They say prices of rice, flour and fish have gone up
November 26, 2008 Print Ready Email Article
IT was not so long ago that your hawker started charging you 20 cents more for your chicken rice, or started shrinking your bowl of mee pok.
Click to see larger image
Food prices were at record-breaking levels then because your hawker said he couldn't make a decent living by still charging you $2 for a plate of chicken rice or giving you the same amount of mee pok for the same price.
Does that excuse still hold today, with global food prices dropping in recent months? (See report on facing page.)
Is it about time for a price correction?
In a New Paper poll of 30 food stallholders at Lau Pa Sat, Newton Food Centre and Toa Payoh Hub, none said they would cut prices - even though 33 per cent admitted to increasing their cooked-food prices when food prices were high. (See poll results on facing page.)
Why?
Most blamed it on suppliers, claiming that they have not reduced their prices.
There were stallholders who also claimed that some suppliers have even raised prices.
However, suppliers that we spoke to said they have lowered prices or are planning to. (See report at right.)
Mr Shaikh Sujandain, 32, who runs a vegetarian food stall at Lau Pa Sat, said: 'Suppliers have raised the prices of rice and flour by two times.'
Mr Yio Ging, 49, who sells fish dishes at Newton Hawker Centre, agreed. 'The fish supplier has increased prices from $11 per kg to $11.50.'
And Mr Ananda Rao, 46, who sells vegetarian food, said his suppliers have raised the prices of oil and rice by 80 cents in the last six months.
Other costs up
Some stallholders said that even though food supply prices have been dropping, other overheads such as rental costs have been going up.
Madam Rosnah, 49, who sells Muslim food, said: 'Rent only goes up, but not down.'
But are consumers convinced that cooked-food prices should not be cut?
The Government released figures for the consumer price index yesterday.
Food prices rose 7.8 per cent last month over the same period last year, down from an 8.2 per cent rise in September.
So, inflation of food prices may have gone down, but consumers want prices cut further.
Of 30 people we spoke to, almost half felt that it was time hawkers reduce their prices.
Housewife Low Lan Foon, 52, said: 'Prices should be lowered. I feel that hawkers have increased their prices by a lot and they have given customers much less.'
Madam Gloria Yap, 70, a retiree, agreed.
'Hawkers increased their prices when food prices went up, so now that food prices have fallen, they should reduce their prices.'
The Consumers Association of Singapore (Case), too, has urged food operators to reduce their prices now.
Its spokesman said in an e-mail reply to The New Paper: 'Consumers would certainly expect food operators to reduce prices now in view of the falling input prices such as oil, rice and even transport costs.'
Case said it has received 15 complaints about food operators profiteering or overcharging.
But some consumers were sympathetic towards the hawkers.
Mr Sebastian Lee, 47, a manager, said: 'They have to make a living too.'
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