SINGAPORE: On Mar 21, Environment Minister Grace Fu was a guest on CNA’s Deep Dive Podcast to talk about the state of the hawker industry. Ms Fu spoke with the hosts on a number of topics, including toilet cleanliness, infrastructure, and the older generation of hawkers retiring without, at times, someone to inherit the business.
For some listeners, however, it was what the Minister left unsaid that rankled, and they pointed out something — the high cost of stall rentals— that they felt should have been part of the conversation on hawkers, who are, after all, an indelible part of Singapore culture.
Host Crispina Robert mentioned that at the “heart of good hawkering” is the livelihoods of the hawkers themselves. We always miss it when our favourite hawkers give up… and then the hokkien mee really dies with that guy.
Ms Fu admitted that the livelihood of hawkers “is not what our young people aspire to have.”
“Younger generations who are better educated realize that there are better-paying livelihoods for them,” she added.
“Secondly, we really need to think about ways how to treat our hawkers better. Is there a way for us to share a bit more with the food costs? I always think that if you are prepared to pay S$18 to S$20 for a pasta, why are you not prepared to pay S$5 for wanton mee? Sometimes, we expect too much from our hawkers. Our hawkers find it difficult to adjust their prices.”
The minister added that three parties play a role in this: patrons who dine at hawker centres, the government, which provides facilities, and the hawkers themselves, who serve delicious and affordable food.
Host Steven Chia pointed out that there are still meals to be had for S$3.50, year after year, despite inflation, which for him “doesn’t make sense.”
Ms Fu noted that hawkers don’t actually raise their prices often, although their costs have gone up.
The podcast has received a lot of comments, with many netizens pointing out what they appear to believe to be the elephant in the room when it comes to the difficulties hawkers face: high rental rates.
“Why never talk about high rental, high ingredients prices, and high operating costs?” asked one.
“With due respect, did she notice that not every hawker centre have chwee kuet, you tiao, etc., etc., because the rentals (are) rocket high because of the d*** tender processes they approved,” one wrote.
Another added, “If we agree to the price increase for these meals, the benefit will not go to the hawkers; it will just flow back to the person collecting the rent. This is a vicious cycle that will continue.”
“Any reports like how high rental on stall contributes to shutdown of food stalls? And increase costs of ingredients had lower profit?” a commenter asked. /TISG
Read also: Amy Khor’s 2018 claim that that stall rentals do not affect food prices resurfaces online