Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Dr Amy Khor said that a study done by NEA and MTI showed that stall rentals comprised only 12% of the overall costs incurred by hawkers whereas raw materials and manpower made up of 76% of the hawkers' cost. Another study by IPS also showed that hawkers generally priced food according to the competition and the demographic profile of customers there. “Hence, stall rentals do not directly affect food prices,” said Dr Amy Khor.
With that being said, does it not mean that every single component that goes into a hawker stall will directly affect the food prices? Be it rental, manpower costs, raw materials, operating costs such as table cleaning fees, etc.. They WILL all directly affect the profits of a hawker and in turn affect the food prices. Everybody is earning a living. Hawkers work long hours daily to provide us with good food. Why are we bullying them? Do they deserve to make a lesser profit? Why is Dr Amy Khor making such statements, does she not know how profits work? I'm sure many of us want the hawker culture in Singapore to continue to thrive. Hawker centres are where we can find low SES food without breaking the bank. If it gets too expensive, how will our future generations be able to afford these simple meals? Just some food for thought.
Source: Facebook
