India's decision has an impact on Singapore hotels, bread becomes expensive

The impact of the ban on wheat exports in India from May is visible in the eateries in Singapore. A media report published on Tuesday said that the Punjabi community, especially the roti-loving community, is paying the price. Supermarket chain Fairprice said wheat flour has been in short supply due to increased demand in the past few weeks. This situation may be due to restrictions on the export of wheat and flour in India.

According to a report in 'The Straits Times, Fairprice suppliers are now sourcing wheat flour from various countries like Sri Lanka, Australia, Canada, and the US. Mathavan Adi Balakrishnan, managing director of Shakuntala, a prominent eatery here, said, “The shortage of (wheat) flour will badly affect our business. We cannot pass the entire cost burden on our customers. We have to try to keep the prices low.

The restaurant used to pay five Singapore dollars (US$ 3.48) per kg for wheat flour from India, but now the flour coming from Dubai is 15 Singapore dollars (US$ 10.45) per kg, he said.

According to United Nations data, Singapore imports 2-2.5 lakh tonnes of wheat and 1-1.2 lakh tonnes of wheat flour annually. The Business Times reported that Singapore accounted for 5.8 percent of the total wheat flour imported from India in 2020.

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