Amazing.. Singapore life.. is seriously getting better,
1. Cab fare raise
2. Cost of living never drops.
3. Food cost during periods like SARS increases, never drops back
down.
4. Payment for Car ownership etc etc increases.
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NOW OUR GROCERIES PRICES INCREASE TOO?!?!?!
even before GST HIKE?!
so increase 1st, den after GST INCREASE even higher..
amazing..
thats really gonnna help the poor?
really gonna shorten the income gap?
really gonna make our lifes easier...
no wonder.. we're leaking our own talent..
who the hell wanna stay here..even if u want to..
like who the heck can constantly maintain a carefree life??
prob half of us gonna die of frustration before our 40s..
wait.. or maybe thats "Their" method of reducing aging
population???
- Related article -
SINGAPORE: If you feel like you have been paying more for groceries
in recent weeks, you are spot on though perhaps not for the
reason you might think.
From milk to Milo, cooking oil to coffee, canned foods, processed
foods, wheat products and more, prices have been rising recently at
supermarkets and hypermarts here.
Retail operators told TODAY that, since late last month, more food
items have been affected. And it has set some shoppers wondering if
profiteering is happening even before the Goods and Services Tax
(GST) hike, from 5 to 7 per cent, kicks in in July.
Irked reader Joyce Ong told TODAY: The GST hike has not yet been
implemented, but the price of Nestle Carnation evaporated milk and
Milkmaid condensed milk has already been increased from $1.10 to
$1.60 ... Besides starting too early, isnt the increase too
drastic?
Online, price increases are being compared on Internet chat forums,
with many netizens attributing the inflation to the impending GST
hike.
But various food suppliers told TODAY the higher tax has nothing to
do with it. They blame the tremendous cost increases in raw
materials for their moves to increase prices.
Cost pressures for dairy products, especially milk, are increasing
worldwide, and especially in Asia and Africa as the supplies come
from elsewhere. Demand in Asia is also rapidly increasing.
Bloomberg reported this week that China would increase demand by as
much as 15 per cent annually for the next three years. This has
aggravated the situation, Nestle Singapore communications and
corporate affairs manager James Wong told TODAY.
Various factors have come together to create, virtually, a perfect
storm, said analysts.
Australia has reduced milk exports because of its worst drought in
a century. Reduced subsidies, meanwhile, have eliminated milk
surpluses in Europe and slowed growth in its production in the
United States.
Fuel and feed costs are affecting farmers, who may choose not to
expand their herds.
All the food suppliers TODAY spoke to stressed that they are not
passing on the full increase to consumers in Singapore. Mr Kenneth
Low, assistant general supplies Magnolia products, said the
recommended retail price of its fresh and pasteurised milk products
were adjusted from May 4.
F&N has absorbed a significant portion of the increased cost
(of milk), he said.
The prices of key ingredients in Milo have all increased, said
Nestles Mr Wong. The price of skimmed milk powder went up 112 per
cent year-on-year last month, cocoa prices rose 12 per cent due to
world supply, and palm oil shortages jacked up prices by almost 40
per cent.
We have increased our coffee prices by an average of 6 to 9 per
cent, and Milo products by an average of 5.2 per cent, he said.
Increasing world demand has pushed up Nescafe prices by almost 17
per cent. In fact, through increased efficiency in production, we
have managed to lessen the burden of price increases as well as
delay the price increase to consumers.
Currency changes have also caused food prices here to go up. Del
Monte Asia, which supplies processed foods here, buys and sells its
products in US dollars. But the latter has depreciated and
production costs are still in local currencies, said Del Monte Asia
marketing director Catherine Chang.
Our peaches, for example, come from South Africa where the rand
has appreciated. So, prices have increased 6 to 8 per cent, she
said.
Supermarkets like Sheng Siong say they are doing their part to help
consumers. Purchaser Alan Chan said the retailer is holding out
against pressure from suppliers to increase the price of instant
noodles.
NTUC FairPrice, which has promised to absorb the GST hike for a
range of essential items, is mindful of its social role in the
current scenario, said its director of integrated purchasing, Mrs
Teo Poh Yim.
When suppliers come to us with recommendations to raise prices, we
always seek justification from them. We ourselves have to be
convinced, she said.
Where possible, we want to be the last to adjust prices. For
example, the cost price and recommended retail price for a
particular brand of kaya increased, but we decided to sell it 10
cents below this price.
Another supplier had increased the price for a brand of canned
mushrooms in mid-March, from $1.20 to $1.30. We continued to sell
it at $1.20 until April 27.
- credit back to sgclub, who they prob took from somenews webbie
too but i cant find the source. -
