Reuters - Monday, January
14
S'pore Lunar New
Year festive food costs seen rising
SINGAPORE, Jan 14 - Prices of Lunar New Year festive food may cost
up to 20 percent more in Singapore this year compared with a year
ago, the Straits Times newspaper said, a move that will fuel the
city-state's 25-year high inflation.
Retailers are set to raise the prices of festive biscuits and
fruits such as pineapple tarts and mandarin oranges by between
10-20 percent due to higher oil and commodity prices, the newspaper
said on Monday.
"The prices have gone up for everything - oil, sugar, butter. And
flour - that is the worst," Andrew Chin, managing director of snack
and beverage maker Glory Food Products, was quoted as saying.
The Lunar New Year is a major festival in Singapore, celebrated by
the city state's majority ethnic Chinese population.
Higher oil and commodity prices have fueled inflation worldwide
from the United States to Hong Kong. In Singapore, rising costs for
food and housing pushed consumer prices to a 25-year high in
November.
The price of a 25 kilogram bag of flour has jumped by about 50
percent to S$30.90 from S$20.40 in August, Png Geo Lian, chairman
of the Association of Chinese Wheat Flour Merchants of Singapore
was quoted as saying.
To rein in higher prices, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, its
central bank, tightened monetary policy in October to let the
Singapore dollar climb faster.
However, the central bank now faces the task of balancing higher
consumer prices with the potentially devastating effects of an
economic slump in the United States this year.