May be we should have a Food and Beverage Council!

As most of us would still remember, several months ago, when the fuel prices skyrocketed to a record high, almost every consumer-based business immediately capitalised on the situation and used that as a very good justification to raise the prices of their products and services.

For instance, many food sellers in HDB coffee shops almost immediately capitalised on the situation and raised the prices of their food items from S$2.00 to S$2.50, from S$2.50 to S$3.00 and from S$3.00 to S$3.30 etc. I just found out that even the price of McDonald's Vanilla Cone Ice-cream has been increased from 50 cents to 60 cents and now 70 cents. In all these instances of price increase, customers generally have no say but to bear and pay for it, at most, some may choose to boycott the purchase and resort to other alternative choices. For a moment, let's assume that the price increases are justifiable and legitimate. Here comes the question.

Now, the fuel prices have fallen by almost 50% to a very low level for the last couple of months, why are the prices of goods and services not adjusted or reduced accordingly? At least, SP Services has announced that for the first quarter of 2009, the electricity tariffs would be reduced by about 25%. That, at least, is sensible. I think many business entities should follow suit.

What about the food sellers? Should there be an independent body, say a Food and Beverage Council be set up, similar to the Public Transport Council, to regulate the prices of food? Should a formula be designed to calculate and determine the prices of foods? If not, all these businesses would continue to raise the prices of their products and services whenever there is an opportunity seemingly justifiable for them to do so or they would just renovate their premises and that would be another justification to raise the prices or as and when they feel like it. These are unfair practices and the consumers are always the silent victims.