Hawker food prices in Singapore went up 6.1 per cent in 2023, the highest increase since 2008.

These increases were primarily driven by more costly imported food ingredients due to supply chain disruptions, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong explained in parliament on Jul. 2.

Hawker prices have stabilised with decline in food import prices

Responding to questions by East Coast GRC Member of Parliament (MP) Jessica Tan on the rising hawker food prices, Gan shared on Jul. 2 that the price increases were due to supply chain disruptions owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, which contributed to the rise in food import prices.

Gan pointed out that Singapore’s import prices for food commodities rose by 8.7 per cent in 2022 and a further 2.1 per cent year-on-year in the first half of 2023.

However, he noted that such import prices have started to decline since the third quarter of 2023, with the fall in global food commodity prices.

As such, Gan pointed out that hawker food price inflation has since moderated to 3.7 per cent in May 2024.

He said this is broadly in line with the general inflation rate of 3.1 per cent for consumer goods and services.

16 'profiteering' cases investigated since 2022

Gan also responded to a question from Yio Chu Kang SMC MP Yip Hon Weng on how the authorities ensure that food businesses are genuinely increasing prices due to increased overheads and not with the intention of profiteering.

Gan shared that the Committee Against Profiteering (CAP) has been reconvened after the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate increases in 2023 and 2024.

The CAP reviews and investigates feedback about unjustified price increases that use the GST increase as an excuse.

Gan revealed that since 2022, the CAP has investigated and resolved 16 reports of alleged GST misrepresentation by hawker centres, food courts and coffee shops.

Since March 2024, the CAP has not received any such feedback, he added.

Raw materials & manpower form 76% of hawkers' operating costs

Weighing in on the matter of rising hawker food prices, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu added that the main cost drivers for hawkers were found to be raw materials and manpower.

This was in response to questions from Bukit Panjang, SMC MP Liang Eng Hwa, about whether authorities had conducted a deeper study on the causes of the price increases and what measures can be taken to keep hawker food affordable.

Fu said that based on surveys conducted by the National Environment Agency (NEA), raw materials and manpower accounted for an average of 56 per cent and 20 per cent of hawkers' operating costs, respectively, in 2022.

She added that hawkers consider multiple factors when setting their food prices, including cost of ingredients, other operating costs and market competition.

NEA moderates rent of hawker stalls

Fu also reiterated NEA's position that it does not regulate hawker food prices.

Instead, NEA provides a conducive operating environment for hawkers at hawker centres by moderating the rent of hawker stalls, Fu said.

To do this, NEA does not set reserve rents for stall tenders and also disallows subletting.

"This allows them to balance between pricing their food affordably and sustaining their livelihoods," Fu explained.

Fu also noted that socially conscious enterprise hawker centre (SEHC) operators in Singapore would have to provide one value meal option at each stall as part of their tender commitment.

As of Dec. 31, 2023, there are 12 hawker centres that are operated by SEHC operators.

Additional support measures for hawkers

Fu also highlighted additional support measures provided by NEA to help hawkers improve their productivity.

These include the Productive Hawker Centres programme, which subsidises automated tray return systems and centralised dishwashing services, and the Hawkers’ Productivity Grant, which provides co-funding for the purchase of automation equipment and digital solutions.

Fu added that some SEHC operators would use their industry networks to offer bulk purchasing services to moderate ingredient costs for hawkers.

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