Food inflation tempers to 2.3% in June

Food inflation eased from 3.8% in January as commonly bought items cheapened.

"Food prices show signs of easing in the first half of 2012," said the Retail Price Watch Group (RPWG) in a release.

"Singapore’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) for food has come down to 2.3 per cent in June from 3.8 per cent in January this year, compared to a year ago," RPWG said, also observing that "prices for some common food items have declined or remained fairly stable."

The average retail prices for hen eggs, watermelon, potatoes, orange, chilled chicken wing, spinach, duck, thai rice and cooking oil declined over the first half of 2012, noted the Retail Price Watch Group, citing data from the Department of Statistics.

Overall, nine food items that RPWG tracked declined in retail prices, four food items remained the same while four items increased only by a moderate amount of less than 1 percent.

Amid the general trend of lower food prices, RPWG still advised consumers to continue looking for promotions and steals.

"Another way to achieve more value for money is to consider purchasing housebrand items. Housebrand items are comparable to more prominent brands in quality, and their prices are often lower," RPWG said. 

"A check with the RPWG’s three supermarket members (NTUC FairPrice, Giant and Sheng Siong) reveals that their housebrand items provide a more economical alternative for consumers in Singapore," it added. "Prices of various housebrand items from these supermarkets are also lower than the national average of prices of retail items in the same category."