Food sellers, bakeries find it hard to keep prices affordable as costs rise

Food sellers and bakeries in Singapore are struggling to keep prices of their goods affordable amid mounting pressure on their operating costs.

Prices of raw materials like cooking oil have spiked and other costs, such as manpower and utility bills, have also risen significantly in the past few months, they said.

About three months ago, Ms Linda Tan, 58, who runs Swatow Wanton Noodle in Bedok, raised the price of her noodles by about 50 cents. But even that has not been sufficient to cover her higher operating costs.

Prices of edible oils, such as soya bean and palm, soared after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with the price of palm oil more than doubling since the middle of last June, Bloomberg reported in March.

The war has also impacted global energy prices, with Brent crude oil up by 33 per cent and natural gas by 80 per cent this year.

Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of grains and edible oils. Russia is also one of the world's largest exporters of natural gas and oil.

Mr Douglas Ng, 31, owner of The Fishball Story in MacPherson, said he had to raise the price of a bowl of noodles by 40 to 50 cents about a month ago, after the cost of utilities, cooking oil and manpower went up.

Bakeries are also finding it hard to maintain their prices, with the rising costs of commodities.

However, the spike in wheat prices after India imposed a ban on its wheat exports last Saturday has had little to no impact on bakeries.

Mr Alfred Chan, who owns bakery Fredo's in Clementi, said flour prices have increased by about 60 cents per kilogram.

But he said this will have minimal impact on him as flour can be bought in bulk and kept for a long time if it is stored properly.

Chicago wheat futures rose by about 6 per cent yesterday to US$12.47 a bushel, their highest level in two months.

The price of eggs has fluctuated, rising from about $3.80 per tray to about $5, Mr Chan added. Costs of other raw materials like butter have also gone up.

Ms Karen Lim, who owns Raintree Bakery and Coffee in Tampines, raised prices by 10 cents during Chinese New Year.

She said: "We might have to raise prices again if we cannot sustain the higher costs, but it depends on what our customers can accept. Of course, we hope that prices will stop rising, but it does not look like they will."

Some consumers like Mr Timothy Cheong are feeling the pinch.

The 55-year-old who works in administration noted that groceries in the supermarket are more expensive now. "The cost of living has definitely gone up. Just buying the same three dishes at the economy rice stall shows an increase of 30 to 50 cents," he added.