Hawker stalls, restaurants seek ways to cope with rice prices

By Jessica Lim
YOU will probably not taste the difference, but more of the rice noodles, or bee hoon, served these days are made from Myanmar grains, rather than the more expensive imports from Thailand.
This is how bee hoon manufacturers here, who together make about 80 tonnes of the rice noodle daily, have responded in recent weeks to global increases in rice prices.

'Supplies seem stable for now, but the world's demand is on Thailand's shoulders,' said Saga Foodstuffs managing director Goh Hock Ho.

This month, his firm is expecting about 350 tonnes of white rice from Myanmar after buying none in March. 'To safeguard, we are sourcing supplies elsewhere,' he said.

White rice from Myanmar is about $200 cheaper per 50kg bag than its Thai counterpart, he said.

Mr Jimmy Soh, managing director of Chye Choon Foods, now uses about 10 per cent less Thai white rice in his bee hoon than a month ago. He is also in the midst of 'securing exports from China', something 'everyone is now trying to do'.

This is the result of rice shortages across Asia, as producing countries curb exports to ensure adequate domestic supply.

Last Thursday, the price of Thai rice, a global benchmark, jumped 30 per cent to an all-time high of US$760 (S$1,030) per tonne after Egypt, a leading exporter, imposed a formal ban on selling rice abroad in a bid to stabilise soaring prices at home.

Restaurants and hawker stalls are also looking for ways to cut costs.

A Straits Times check of 15 restaurants and hawker centres found seven had taken action. Some cut back on labour and electricity and are dishing out smaller portions. Others stock up or switch to lower grades of grain.

Mr Badrol Hisam Ramli, owner of Boon Lay Power Nasi Lemak, has enough 50kg bags of rice piled up in his stall's kitchen to last him 20 days. He usually stocks only a day's worth.

The 42-year-old, who recently raised the price of his nasi lemak from $2 to $2.20, said: 'Suppliers tell me prices of my next order will rise, so I buy more now. I bought as much as I could store in my kitchen. If not, how to keep prices affordable for my customers?'

He is also considering giving smaller portions and has tried recipes with lower grades of rice to cut costs.

Over at Jalan Bukit Merah, the owner of Guan Guan Claypot Rice has decided not to hire extra help despite being short-handed.

But not all changes have worked. The owner of a chicken rice store in Bukit Batok, Mr Teo Jew Kit, got complaints from customers after he switched to a lower grade of rice last month. He said: 'They started complaining the rice tasted less fragrant, so I switched back after three weeks. I did not want to lose them.'