Prices of shrimp unchanged at most S'pore supermarkets

SINGAPORE - Shoppers at most Singapore supermarkets are not shelling out more for most types of shrimp, despite a killer disease shrinking the supply in Thailand and Malaysia.

A check with four supermarket chains found that two - Giant and Sheng Siong - have kept prices unchanged.

At FairPrice, the leading chain, only the price of grey prawns has risen by 10 per cent, with 1kg costing $15.90.

Prices at Cold Storage, however, have inched up. It tags its seafood prices to wholesale market prices. But it declined to disclose when the prices were raised or the size of the increase.

Singapore buys the bulk of its shrimp from three countries, according to last year's official figures. Of the 17,700 tonnes imported, 56 per cent came from Malaysia, 13 per cent from Indonesia and 13 per cent from Thailand.

But both Sheng Siong and Giant said their supply had not been disrupted. Sheng Siong buys largely from Malaysia and Indonesia and its prices range between $17 and $21 per kilogram of shrimp.

Giant gets 60 per cent of its supply from Thailand. But as a precaution, it is looking to the Middle East as an alternative.

Restaurants, however, have been hit hard, with the Tung Lok Group paying up to 25 per cent more after its suppliers jacked up prices this month.

At Penang Place, shrimp prices went up $2 per kg, or about 15 per cent, last month.

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