'Never seen prices like this': Fish, chicken stallholders fret over passing on higher costs to customers

In more than 40 years of running a fish stall at an Ang Mo Kio wet market, Mr Gary Tan, 63, said he has never seen wholesale fish prices go up so much, and for so long. 

As Singapore faces a supply crunch for both chicken and fish amid shortages in Malaysia, Mr Tan told TODAY by phone in Mandarin: “Prices of fish have gone up by 30 per cent, and it has been increasing since the Hari Raya period.

Seafood prices in Malaysia have been rising sharply, with reports that fish stocks in the country's waters have been falling. According to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), about 25 per cent of Singapore's seafood was imported from Malaysia in 2021.

Mr Tan said the reduced supply from Malaysia, along with higher fuel prices for fishermen, had led to soaring prices in Singapore in the past month.

Many sellers, who carry chicken and fish, like Mr Tan, told TODAY that they have seen an increase in wholesale prices from suppliers of both.