Prices of a range of goods are set to go up as the cost of trucking them in rises, and fresh food tops the list.

Importers said vegetables, eggs and live poultry from Malaysia will cost 10 to 30 per cent more from as early as next week.

The impact will not be limited to produce. Practically everything imported from Malaysia, including building materials, will also cost more soon.

Even a bus ticket up north is going to be more expensive. Coach companies are already talking about a 25 per cent hike in fares.

They say ticket prices, which are now between $25 and $55, will go up soon.

The increases follow Malaysia's decision to trim subsidies for petrol and diesel and raise pump prices from Thursday.

Overnight, that meant a 41 per cent increase in petrol prices, from 80 Singapore cents to $1.13 per litre, while diesel prices rose 63 per cent, from 66 cents to $1.08 per litre.

Though the move has been criticised in several quarters, with opposition groups promising a string of protests, the Malaysian government yesterday emphatically dismissed calls for a rollback of the policy.

Domestic Trade Minister Shahrir Samad had a one-word answer to reporters who asked if there would be an about-turn: 'No.'

He added: 'I think it is wise. This is the first time we have come to grips with the subsidy system.'

Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi told senior media editors yesterday that the government will announce broad measures next week to ease the burden on consumers.

Bernama news agency quoted him as saying that the government was extremely mindful of the impact of the price increases on the people, but it had to bite the bullet on reducing subsidies.

Wholesalers in Singapore, meanwhile, are bracing themselves for a big hit, and say they will have no choice but to pass on some of the increases to consumers.

The lorries bringing market produce here run mainly on diesel, which has seen the biggest jump in price.

Egg exporters in Malacca, for example, say that the three-hour trips to Singapore will now cost about RM11,500 (S$4,800) per lorry per month, up from RM7,000.

The result, said Singapore's Eggs Import and Export Trading Association, is that egg prices could soon leap by 30 per cent.

Said Mr Gary Tan, owner of At Thoa Vegetable Wholesaler: 'Since we import so much of our fresh produce from Malaysia, increases in our costs will definitely be passed down to consumers.'

The vegetable dealer added: 'I have already told them to expect it.'

Singapore imported 177,117 tonnes of vegetables (46 per cent of total imports), 61,304 tonnes of chicken (37 per cent) and 60,751 tonnes of eggs (100 per cent) from Malaysia last year.

limjess@sph.com.sg

twong@sph.com.sg

hazlinh@sph.com.sg

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JASON HAU, STEPHANIE SONG & JOYCE TEO

MORE REPORTS: ASIA

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