Hawker food prices rose by 6.1% in 2023, but cost pressure seen easing

Significant drop in global energy and food commodity prices leads to a moderation

- Shermaine Ang, Jordan Loo and Taryn Ng

Hawker food prices rose by 6.1 per cent in 2023, the highest since 2008, a new study by the Singapore Department of Statistics (SingStat) found.

For example, the average cost of a plate of chicken rice in 2023 was $4.15, up from $3.40 in 2019, while that of a bowl of mee rebus went up from $3.26 to $3.79 in the same time period.

this While some cost pressures have since eased - with hawker food inflation falling to 4.1 per cent in December 2023 after peaking at 8.3 per cent in February 2023 may not translate to cheaper eats.

Price increases were driven partly by factors such as pricier raw food ingredients due to supply chain disruptions triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic and compounded by other events such as the Russia-Ukraine war, the study found.

They have since moderated because global energy and food commodity prices fell significantly between February and December 2023, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry, pointing out that the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate also appreciated.

"This abated cost pressures faced by F&B (food and beverage) service providers, including hawkers, in terms of imported raw ingredients, electricity and gas," it said.

It expects hawker food inflation to ease further in 2024 if cost conditions stay favourable.

The study, published on May 6, compared the 6.1 per cent jump in overall hawker food prices in 2023 with the average price increase of 2.2 per cent per year observed from 2012 to 2022.

It compared prices of food across hawker centres, coffee shops and foodcourts, using the consumer price index for hawker food, which measures the average price changes across more than 100 hawker food items from 1,700 stalls. A total of 16 commonly sold food items and beverages were analysed.