SINGAPORE - The public can get a 5 per cent discount for 100 daily staples such as rice, oil and vegetables every Friday at all FairPrice supermarkets and hypermarkets, starting from March 4.
This is part of FairPrice Group's Stretch Your Dollar programme that aims to help consumers cope with the rising cost of living amid the Covid-19 pandemic and inflationary factors such as logistic logjam and higher oil price.
From Monday (Feb 14), the programme will also reduce and hold the prices of hot low sugar, no sugar and no milk coffee and tea at more than 80 Kopitiam and NTUC Foodfare outlets at 90 cents, until the year end.
Kopitiam and Foodfare have pledged to hold prices for other variations of hot coffee and tea, as well as their breakfast set until the end of the year.
The Rice Garden budget meal programme for the needy, seniors and union members will also expand to a targeted 40 stalls by the year end.
Rice Garden is an economy rice stall brand with 19 stalls currently that provide subsidised meals of one meat and two vegetable dishes to ComCare card holders at less than $1.80.
The Stretch Your Dollar campaign was introduced in 2007 to 2008 during the financial crisis and was brought back from 2010 to 2011 during an economic downturn.
Mr Seah Kian Peng, group chief executive of FairPrice Group, said it aims to moderate the cost of living despite increased cost pressures and disrupted supply chains.
He added: "Regardless, we share our consumers' concerns over the cost of living and how the Covid-19 situation has affected lives and livelihoods. We have developed this programme and introduced new initiatives at our supermarkets, foodcourts and coffee shops that will help the community stretch their dollar further on essential needs."
Existing discount schemes at FairPrice supermarkets and hypermarkets for the Pioneer Generation, Merdeka Generation, seniors and Community Health Assist Scheme Blue card holders between Monday and Thursday will remain.
Savings from all the discount schemes, including the new Friday 5 per cent discount, are projected to exceed $12 million in 2022.
The group will also be launching a programme to provide free meals for the needy and a budget meal initiative at its Kopitiam and Foodfare outlets in the second half of the year, with details to be announced later.
Mr Seah said: "We will continue to monitor the situation closely and explore ways to make lives better for all."
The core inflation rate, which the Government has said is a more accurate gauge for locals, hit 2.1 per cent last December, year-on-year. This was up from 1.6 per cent in November and 1.5 per cent in October.
On Feb 3, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong reiterated that the Budget 2022 statement - which will be delivered in Parliament on Friday (Feb 18) - will help Singaporeans manage concerns over the cost of living.
