SINGAPORE: After a poll in Must Share News showed that nearly three out of four respondents (71%) said there should be price caps for the food offered at hawker centres, a discussion among commenters ensued. Some agreed with the imposition of such limits on the price of food items, but others pointed to the higher costs that hawkers face.
Singapore has long been known as one of the world’s foodie havens, where delicious fare can be had at affordable prices, especially at hawker centres. The hawker culture is such an important part of the city-state that on Dec 16, 2020, it was successfully inscribed as Singapore’s first element on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
While locals and visitors alike have long enjoyed the food, convenience, and affordability of hawker centres, in the past few years, more and more have noticed that prices in these establishments have gone up. Hawkers, in turn, are in danger of becoming a vanishing breed, with fewer younger people wanting to pursue it as a career, given the long hours and often low profitability in the industry.
Nevertheless, as the report pointed out, many in Singapore continue to regularly rely on hawker centres for inexpensive meals, finding that buying from hawker stalls is not more expensive than cooking at home.
However, while 71% of those who participated in the answers.sg survey agreed that price caps are necessary, the report also noted that this puts the hawkers themselves in a tough spot.
This difficulty in reconciling diners’ and hawkers’ needs is reflected in the comments on the report. Many, however, agreed that one of the main ways to resolve this would be to address the problem of high rental rates.
“Price caps should be applied on the rent,” wrote one.
“High rental is the main issue,” another added, writing that water and electricity bills, higher food prices, and the 9% Goods and Services Tax (GST) also add to the problem.
One Facebook user pointed out, “Something is really wrong with the system,” which many appear to agree with.
Another noted that while they used to be able to eat three meals for S$10, at present, that amount can only buy two.
“How to price cap?” another asked, writing,“Prices are generally increasing across the world, not just in Singapore. Why do people work 10 hours as a hawker, yet they cannot even earn that little bit more? If is so expensive to you, then cook for yourself at home. Ingredients and labour cost are all increasing in price, not just GST.”
They added that if prices were suppressed at hawker centres, nobody would want to work in the industry anymore.
One wrote, “Coffeeshop owners and food court owners are slapped with all kinds of charges aside from basic rental, utilities, and cleaning.”
They went on to explain that basic stall rent could be S$5,000. On top of that, there could be a cleaning fee of S$1,200, plus additional costs for ORA (Outdoor Refreshment Area), pest control, uniforms, as well as other fees, which could mean that business owners need to pay between S$9,000 and S$10,000. “All these are passed on to the consumers,” they added. /TISG
Read also: Netizens ask why Grace Fu failed to mention how high rental rates affect hawkers