Hawkers feel pinch of rising food costs

Disruptions to global supply chain due to war and lockdowns causing prices of ingredients to skyrocket

- Joyce Lim Senior Business Correspondent

Hawkers are feeling the squeeze of rising food costs and many have had to pass on part of the costs to consumers.

In March, Mr Andy Liu, who sells Western food at various coffee shops islandwide, raised the prices of all his dishes by 50 cents to $1. He also removed all egg items, such as fried eggs, from his menu following a surge in the price of eggs.

“The cost of my ingredients keeps going up. Just two months ago, I paid $28 for a box of French fries. Today, the same box of fries costs $48. Prices of meat have also gone up.

“And it’s not only the prices of ingredients that are rising. I have been told there is a global shortage of many food items, like French fries, chicken and beef,” said Mr Liu, 29, owner of Andy’s Grill Express.

“Because of the shortage in supply, my food suppliers had put a cap on my orders. Hence, I had to source more suppliers to ensure that I have enough chicken and French fries to sell.”

Over at Bukit Timah Market and Food Centre, hawker Fang Lin Xia, the owner of Golden Chopsticks which sells fried carrot cake and fried oyster omelette, has raised the price of her fried oyster omelette from $5 to $6.

A small packet of the omelette needs three eggs, she said.

And it is not only the price of eggs, which has gone up by a whopping 36 per cent since she started her business last year, that affects her. Ms Fang said she is also struggling to cope with the rising prices of cooking oil and imported oysters from South Korea.