According to financial comparison platform Finder.com, the price of toilet paper in Singapore — a hot commodity amidst the Covid-19 outbreak — increased by 48.84 per cent over a four week period in March and April.

That puts Singapore as the country with the second largest price increase out of 90 countries, only behind Norway, which saw prices increasing by almost 68 per cent during that period.

Singapore had second-highest increase in the world

The survey was conducted by tracking data from Expatsian, an online cost-of-living calculator that relies on user-submitted pricing data to get the average cost of items around the world, from Mar. 25 to Apr. 22.

The price of a pack of four rolls of toilet paper in Singapore supposedly increased from an average of US$2.15 (S$3.04) to US$3.20 (S$4.52) over the one month period.

That price increase of 48.84 per cent was well above the global average increase of just 3.37 per cent, from US$1.93 (S$2.72) to US$2.00 (S$2.82).

The only country with a larger percentage increase in price was Norway, with prices jumping from US$2.71 (S$3.83) to US$4.54 (S$6.41), almost 68 per cent.

Other countries with significant price increases included Cyprus at 35.08 per cent, Austria at 33.85 per cent, and Malaysia at 32.26 per cent.

Singapore was one of nine countries that saw a double-digit percentage increase in the cost of four rolls of toilet paper.

Asia had the highest average price increase

Out of all of the continents, Asia saw the highest average price rise, with the cost of four rolls of toilet paper increasing by 7.56 per cent, from an average of US$1.91 (S$2.70) to US$2.06 (S$2.91).

The continents with the next highest increases were Oceania, with 6.15 per cent, and Europe with 4.62 per cent.

North America was the continent with the biggest negative change, with prices dropping by 1.71 per cent on average, from US$2.98 (S$4.21) to US$2.93 (S$4.14).

Africa also saw an average negative change, with prices falling 1.04% per cent from an average of US$1.61 (S$2.27) to US$1.59 (S$2.24).

Not sure if retailers are charging more or people are reporting high prices

Finder’s global editor-in-chief, Angus Kidman, said that increased demand and hoarding could have influenced the price increases, but also noted that the Expatistan data is self-reported and limited in use.

"We don’t know definitively whether price increases are due to retailers charging more for in-demand products, or whether people are simply reporting higher prices," he said.

He also added that toilet paper suppliers in Singapore have said that demand has simply been brought forward rather than increased, "so it will be interesting to see what happens to prices over the coming months."

You can read the full report by Finder here.

Responding to Mothership inquiries, a spokesperson for NTUC FairPrice responded that the prices of toilet paper at FairPrice have remained stable over the past two months, despite increased demand.

Here is their full statement:

"Prices of toilet paper at FairPrice have remained stable in the past two months despite the elevated demand for these products.

For example, the retail selling prices of the FairPrice DeluxSoft Bathroom Tissue (3ply, 10 rolls per pack) and FairPrice Gold Facial Tissue Box (3ply, 4 x 140 sheets per pack) remain as $4.30 and $4.50 respectively and have not changed compared to two months ago.

FairPrice maintains a stockpile of essential products to ensure undisrupted supplies in the event of crisis. In recent months, we have also increased our inventory holding for high-demand items including rice, noodles and paper products. Our paper products including toilet paper are sourced from China, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia.

We continue to employ an ongoing strategy of source diversification and work with suppliers from multiple countries, to ensure our customers have a stable supply of daily essentials at affordable prices."

Read more about Singapore's relationship with toilet paper

Top image via Anna Shvets from Pexels.