Supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice has pledged to hold the price of its house brand of Thai rice till year-end amid concerns of increased rice prices, following the flooding situation in Thailand.

 

FairPrice said it will also hold the price of its Jasmine Fragrant rice from Vietnam till after the Lunar New Year season next year, in end-February 2012.

  

NTUC FairPrice CEO Seah Kian Peng said: "For the last few months, already, we've been stockpiling our rice.

 

"Right now, we do have a stockpile -- this should see us through at least for the next few months.

 

"What happens a few months from now, I think we'll certainly monitor the situation, but as I've said, we're looking at other countries; we're stockpiling more Vietnamese rice. In fact, we've stockpiled over four months."

 

FairPrice said it has also stockpiled about three months of Thai rice.

 

FairPrice said more consumers are also switching from Thai rice to alternative sources.

 

Demand for Thai rice has dropped from 95 per cent in 2007, to 75 per cent this year and a 25 per cent year-on-year increase has also been seen in the demand for Vietnamese rice.

 

Vietnam is now the world's second largest exporter of rice.

 

Minister of State for Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan, who is also chairman of the Retail Price Watch Group (RPWG), said Singaporeans should consider the wide variety of rice available.

 

- CNA/wk