\n<\/p>\n
At Chinatown Complex Food Centre, Singapore\u2019s largest hawker centre, more than 220 vendors have been feeling the strain over the past month.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Operating costs have climbed by another 10 per cent, while higher delivery fees \u2013 driven by fuel surcharges \u2013 are further squeezing margins, said Mr Cornelius Tan, chairman of the Chinatown Complex Hawkers’ Association.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The association said authorities have asked to be alerted if gas prices spike significantly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But for many hawkers, pressure is already mounting, leaving them with little choice but to pass on part of the higher costs to consumers, with price increases ranging from 50 cents to S$1.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a typical hawker, they will have various suppliers,\u201d said Mr Tan, adding that these could range from poultry and vegetables to other ingredients.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn a daily basis, they will have many deliveries, and if delivery surcharges were imposed by every single supplier, then we will see a multiplier effect on the fuel surcharge in terms of delivery fees, and this will also become a burden for hawkers as well,\u201d he noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHawkers are facing bigger bills every time they receive their raw material as compared to previously, even though they may be ordering the same amount of raw material\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n