Yes, the price of rice is going up. But so too are the prices of cooking oil and other items such as instant noodles.

Consumers who buy premium brands face the steepest increase, compared to those who pick products packaged by the supermarket chains.

The price of a 10kg bag of Royal Umbrella fragrant rice jumped 44 per cent - from $18.65 in March to $26.80 last month.

The house brand version of rice jumped too, but by less.

The FairPrice brand of fragrant rice, for example, increased from $5.75 to $6.50 per 5kg bag, an increase of 13 per cent.

Cooking oil has also become more expensive. The Knife brand of cooking oil jumped by 56 per cent - from $13.20 to $20.60 from March 1 to April 28.

Case's price checks covered eight major supermarket chains and looked at 21 essential items, including household products such as toilet rolls and baby diapers.

The prices include the discounts and promotions at the time when checks were done.

Case president Yeo Guat Kwang said they would help the lower income group on 'where to get food at the lowest possible price'.

Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.