This was what greeted me when I went to a local supermarket to buy a packet of rice. It was near closing time but usually there would still be plenty of rice left.
Our government has assured the citizens that there is an ample supply of rice and we don't have to hoard it. I thought so too. Now, how to believe?
The next day I went early with my students to grab a few bags. Many hawker stall owners were there to buy rice, and they bought many packets.
I don't consume much rice but I have my elderly parents-in-law and Asian students to care for. They can't go without rice.
With soaring gas and food prices, there is much discontent on the ground as people struggle to cope with the spiralling cost.
I read in the news that violence and food riots are emerging in certain countries due to the soaring food price spikes. Rising living costs has hit people hard. Salaries are not increasing.
In due time, we might be back to the old days, when rice is only affordable to the rich.
Red T-shirt
24 minutes ago
49 comments:
Very powerful photo. Thank you for sharing your commentary--it makes your picture even more special.
Yes, we really might be back to the old days when only the rich can afford to eat rice.
wah, that bad ah... so.. start planting yr own rice! hehe...
Hi not afraid to use it,
Thanks for stopping by. :)
mumsgather,
Sad hor, I feel that we are going backwards to our grandparents' time.
My angel,
Problem is... Singapore has no land to plant our own rice! I would love to be self-sufficient.
But planting rice is backbreaking, I might want to grow kentang (potatoes)! hehe.....
Wow! I didn't know that they are panic buying here too. We eat out alot here in Singapore so my sack of rice here would definitely last for maybe a year LOL.
Nice blog! ;)
Hi pinay jade,
Thanks for visiting.
Don't keep rice for too long... there will be weevils! :)
Very scary times, eastcoast.
Bunny Beth,
Yes, it is. :(
ai...living cost is really getting higher and higher....
just come back from breakfast and the normal vege fried mee hon is 2 dollar now selling at $2.30. My wallet is getting strunk:(
That is awful. For shops to run out of rice, that would trigger even bigger fear.
Indonesia has heaps of lands and yet, we buy rice from other countries more than ever. :)
ah hong,
Price hike varies in different stalls and areas. The market stall opposite my house sells the vegetarian fried bee hoon at S$2.50! Old neighbourhood where there are lots of elderly residents.
I'm sharing a plate of food with my hubby. To save cost and good time to tighten our belts - to lose some weight! hehe....
andie summerkiss,
Precisely! That is a huge local supermarket and despite the assurances of the Government, people are still hoarding rice. How not to get panic!
Large countries like Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia are also importing rice because they are clearing farm lands to build commercial buildings or switching to planting crops for biofuels. :(
Goodness, I didn't know that the rice crisis is a problem for everyone. I hope our respective government will do something about this soon. Very powerful photo.
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that is a little scary. My little sister is going through something similar in the Philippines....cost is rising fast, and the salary doesn't. It's hard.
emmyrose,
The rice crisis is spreading across countries where rice is the staple food of the people.
Although we have been told by our government to seek other alternatives for it, it is difficult to tell that to my 90-plus in-laws. They cannot survive on bread, noodles and potatoes. No matter how expensive it gets, we will save the rice for them.
Thanks Vhiel! :)
If we run out of rice, everyone will have to resort to the Atkins' Diet.
shoshanan,
Yes, my good Filipino friend was just complaining to me about the rising costs in the Philippines on the MSN.
For the past week, she has been updating me daily on the rising price of rice in Manila. We are worried things would turn ugly. :(
giddy tigress,
Would the poor be able to afford?
We will have to turn to sweet potatoes and tapioca.
so bad hah, a simple Pink Heart Tag for u. Have a nice day
Hi Maam;
do not panic, there is only 4.5 million mouths to feed here.
There seems to be an importation regulation on rice, sugar and some other items. Can somebody in the know shed some light on this?
I think the Regulation has to do with import quota and licence/permit for imports of said items. I do not understand the logic behind this regulation. Hope someone will be kind to enlighten us.
patriot.
wah~~like that need to start eating porridge/congee loh, very watery one somemore...
This is really back to the old days
My father had been telling me always: He grew up on 地瓜
Only have rice once a month
I had a hard time getting rice from NTUC last week too. I finally bought it from Cold Storage. The craze for the rush has been slowed down.*sweat*
I'm so happy today cos my younger son, Amos... finally poo inside the toilet bowl. ;)
I went to the supermarket yesterday to buy a sack of rice and I was really surprised how much it cost now. It's hard to believe how expensive it is now.
When I was watching the news, I saw how other people were clamoring to buy cheaper rice (from the government) because many cannot afford the commercial rice. It's sad to see that many of them were not able to buy because of the shortage of supply.
Better go and grab kentang now before it goes expensive due to THE created demand (since newspapers already say it's a good alternative!)
But I still like rice. :O
Wow, gas prices have affect people across the world. The truckers in the U.S. recently went on strike due to gas prices. Some of them are barely getting by.
It's true! It's true! The end is nigh..
Very soon, there will be acute food and potable water shortages. Increases in the population, decreasing numbers of farmers and lack of farmlands. High cost of everything that used to be cheap. War, famine, destruction. The End.
I'm surprised! I went to the supermarket the past few days and there were plenty..
Oh dear.... Hope what you said will not come true...
Thank you for sharing. Your photo speaks volumes.
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It seems to be time to eat potatoes and maybe sweet potatoes. Many of my clients whom I am serving feel the effect of the rising prices of food.
ecl,
come lah Miri. Plenty of rice here! haha!
Wah, what happened to all the rice? Is there rice rationing in Singapore? Why?
I doubt it will ever get to the stage where rice is only affordable by the rich.
Clockwise
Wah I did not realise the problem is that serious in SG.. I just spoke to my mom who's living there and she did not mentioned anything about it to me..
Thanks for the update... I will call her now and asked her about it :)
wow...no more rice on shelf ? but this is only a short term scare...here in M'sia...things like cooking oil, flour or sugar will seems to disappear overnight whenever there is an announcement of price hike....or shortage...so 'kiasi'...causes more panic...in turn more hoarding....and back to more 'kiasi'....
Wow. Proof that you can't always believe what GOVERNMENT tells you. :-0
Wow this is scary!
That's kinda scary. I hope the situation will be resolved soon.
Oh my gosh that is shocking! I had no idea!! food costs are rising in Norway as well but not to that extent. I can't believe that there isn't enough rice to go around, gosh I wish I could send you some.
What a shocking consequence of the unbalance in the international economy!
so serious? wah, come come. come australia got plenty of rice! everywhere, every supermarket!
Can Singaporeans switch to potatoes or bread instead of rice?
I am worry for our children.
My grandmother told me last time they got no money to buy rice , and they had to eat fan shue (sweet potatoes)...but then now how?..fan shue also expensive wei..
ecl,
longan seeds on the way!:D
Wow ... all gone!
I need to rush out buy rice and what not!
I hope your prediction is wrong though. Then again ...
I'm suprise actually as I thought Singapore is a rich city/country. As I'm living in the UK, I can still get the rice and therefore this crisis doesn't affect me much at the moment. But if this carries on, I'm sure everybody would suffer!
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