There’s a phrase you often hear “Live to Eat or Eat to Live”. In other words, some people eat because it is a basic need and they have to sustain energy to carry out daily activities, whereas others would do anything they can to eat the best food they can possibly find. People need food to survive because that’s the basic requirement to live.
However, recently, Malaysians have been noticing that the prices on their favourite restaurants’ menus keep on increasing or have their portions reduced, and even supermarkets have a price hikes on essential items.
Prices have been increasing, making it difficult for both consumers and suppliers. Restauranteurs face the issue of reducing their portion sizes or increasing menu prices, both of which would result in the loss of customers. The main cause of all these would be the global pandemic COVID19 which affected all supply chains and food production.
Yes! Malaysia is not the only country affected by this. A recent video by South Morning China Post on YouTube, titled “The cost of Asia’s favourite foods sours because of the pandemic and Ukraine-Russia war“, highlights how some countries such as Japan, Vietnam and China are struggling with the crease in food prices.
For instance, the price of flour and oil in Japan has doubled since last year, affecting an Udon Store owner after Russia invaded Ukraine. In Hong Kong, a dumpling store owner had to increase the price of dumplings due to the high transportation fees from mainland China. The inflation has increased by 4.5% for ingredients from mainland China.
Most of these restauranteurs are in a dilemma because they are worried that the rising prices would lead them to a loss in customers as they do not have much choice but to increase the price and sustain their business. The same goes for local Malaysian F&B businesses.
It doesn’t end here! India, the largest sugar producer in the world has also reported its plan to limit sugar exports, which would cost a new risk to global food prices! Does that mean the price hike in food will only get more expensive? Will we reach a point where money can’t buy us any food due to the world’s food shortage issues? Comment down below and let us know your opinion!
Lee Jasen is a content writer under Headliner by Newswav, a programme where content creators get to tell their unique stories through articles and at the same time monetize their content within the Newswav app.
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