Channel NewsAsia 31 Mar 08;
SINGAPORE: Retailers and importers said they are trying to protect customers from having to pay more for rice as prices in Asia have doubled since the beginning of this year.
Price of rice from Thailand – the world's biggest exporter of rice – has gone up from US$600 per tonne to US$1,000 per tonne.
Singaporeans consume about 326,854 tonnes of rice a year. As supply is falling short of the demand for rice around the world, the staple food has become a valuable commodity.
Wayne Goh, Chief Operating Officer, Goh Joo Hin Pte Ltd, said: "The increase in price has been tremendous and it has been significant over the past six months. It's at least a 35 percent increase."
Mr Goh, who distributes the New Moon brand, said his prices have only risen by about 15 percent so that customers can still cope with the increase.
Independent retailers and supermarket chains are also doing what they can to ensure that rice remains affordable.
Lim Gek Heng, Director, CanMark Supermarket, said: "We'll be stockpiling our supply while the price is lower so that when we eventually have to raise our prices, we'll be able to keep our profits while keeping our customers happy."
NTUC FairPrice increased the price of three house brand rice varieties last Friday by 10 to 15 percent. It was able to hold off the hike for six months because it imports directly from suppliers, cutting out the middle man.
FairPrice stocks up rice from Australia, Vietnam and India, so it is not wholly dependent on Thailand.
Sheng Siong supermarket chain, which also imports three brands of rice, said the staple food is a bestseller at its stores.
The chain is having a promotion on one brand of rice for the next three weeks to attract more customers and it will review its selling price once the offer ends.- CNA/so
