Food Prices at Hawker Centres

Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether the Ministry would consider fixing the prices of food sold by hawkers at all new and existing hawkers centres to ensure the stability in cost of living for Singaporeans.

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The Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources (Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien) (for the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources): Mr Speaker, cooked food prices in hawker centres are influenced by a number of factors such as location, competition, food type, cost of raw materials, rental and other operating costs. Fixing food prices will restrict the flexibility of stallholders to respond to changes in their operating costs.

My Ministry recognises the importance of maintaining affordable cooked food for Singaporeans and will explore other ways to moderate cost pressures on food prices. We have recently announced plans to build more hawker centres. This will increase the supply of cooked food stalls into the market and, over time, help moderate the market rentals and prices of cooked food stalls in hawker centres.