Case has urged all Singapore hawkers to display food prices at their stalls after finding fault in a survey of 584 food stalls.

Some 15 per cent of the hawkers visited did not prominently display food prices and Case found prices have surged for many foods, especially Chicken Nasi Briyani.

The food price survey covered hawker centres, markets, food centres, coffee shops, food courts and eateries and found 89 of the food stalls failed to display food prices prominently.

Case conducted the island wide survey on five common food items over a period of three weeks from July 16 to August 5. The items were Chicken Nasi Briyani, Chicken Rice, Fishball Noodles, Mixed Vegetables Rice (two vegetables and one meat) and Roti Prata (two plain pratas).

 More than half of the food stalls that did not display the prices were stalls selling Mixed Vegetable Rice. For stalls that do not display their food prices, consumers will only be able to know the actual price of the food they ordered after it has been packed and handed over to them. To help consumers to be more discerning and be able to compare prices, Case wants all hawkers to display prices clearly at their stalls.

Compared with our previous hawker food price survey conducted in July 2014, there is no change in the mode prices (i.e. the price most commonly charged by hawkers) of the surveyed food items.

Although mode prices remain unchanged, there is an overall trend of increasing numbers of hawkers charging consumers more for the surveyed food items, says Case.

The percentage of hawkers selling food below the mode price has decreased, while the percentage of hawkers selling food at and above the mode price has increased as seen in the table below. The biggest jump in prices was for Chicken Nasi Briyani, where a larger number of hawkers are now selling their food above the mode price.

The majority of the hawkers that sell Chicken Rice, Fishball Noodles and Roti Prata are charging consumers at the mode price. Most of the hawkers that sell Mixed Vegetables Rice are still charging consumers below the mode price of $3.

 Case says it encourages consumers to vote with their wallets and patronise hawker food stalls that continue to offer food at good value for money.

“Moreover, Case observed that take-away charges for the surveyed food items ranged between 10 cents and 50 cents, depending on the type of take-out container. We further encourage consumers to always ask for the price of the food item and the take-away charges (if any) before ordering.”

Case says it is committed to protecting consumers’ interests and promoting fair business practices and believes Singapore hawker food prices should remain competitive and affordable for consumers.