In a Facebook post on 16 June 2025, veteran food critic K.F. Seetoh, founder of Makansutra, criticised what he described as deep-rooted issues plaguing Singapore’s retail and F&B sectors.
His remarks come amid public uproar over rising commercial rental rates, with citizens and small business owners calling for reforms.
Demands include caps on lease renewals and restrictions on foreign investment in commercial property to ease the burden on local enterprises.
Critique goes beyond home-based versus commercial eateries
Seetoh rejected the framing of competition as a dispute between home-based and brick-and-mortar businesses.
He emphasised that both operate within legal bounds and that the real concern lies in “the supremely high cost of doing retail and F&B in Singapore.”
“Everyone is in on it,” Seetoh wrote, noting that even Housing Development Board (HDB) properties and hawker centre tenders are being affected by exorbitant bids.
Seetoh pointed to the escalating rents seen in town centres, warning that such trends will inevitably affect residential areas.
He referenced the high tender prices reported in July 2024, where a bid of S$10,158 was submitted for a hawker stall at Marine Parade Central Market and Food Centre.
This was the second-highest bid for the unit and the highest for any hawker stall in six years.
Of the top five bids, one reaching S$10,680 was withdrawn, but three others still exceeded S$8,000.
Government response to high tender concerns
In September 2024, then-Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment, Koh Poh Koon, addressed these concerns in Parliament.
He noted that the median rent for hawker stalls had remained stable at around S$1,250 since 2015.
In 2023, the median successful tender price was approximately S$1,800, with one in five stalls awarded at or below S$500.
Koh also stated that rental costs typically account for less than 10% of a stallholder’s operating costs, with raw materials and manpower forming the bulk.
He added that NEA prohibits subletting and rent-seeking, reporting that only 4% of cooked food stalls pay rent above the assessed market rate.
Manpower crunch adds to SMEs’ woes
On 4 November 2024, the National Environment Agency (NEA) announced a revision to its stall rental renewal policy.
Starting from the next tender exercise, high tendered rents will no longer be adjusted sharply at the first renewal.
Instead, a staggered approach will be adopted to ensure more sustainable pricing and curb inflated tender offers.
In addition to high rental costs, Seetoh expressed concern over labour shortages, particularly in the food and beverage sector.
He cited recent developments from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which has expanded its hiring pool for Auxiliary Police Officers (APOs).
By December 2024, foreign APOs from countries such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar, the Philippines, India, and China made up about 3% of the total workforce.
“If our local police and MHA folks are having problems recruiting Singaporeans and have resorted to foreigners to fill the ranks, what hope do SMEs have?” Seetoh asked.
Calls for focus on policy, not personalities
Seetoh also took aim at mainstream media for comparing upscale restaurant groups like Unlisted Collection to traditional eateries such as Lucky Garden.
He dismissed these comparisons as “shallow,” arguing that no laws were broken and that the “laws itself need fixing.”
Seetoh concluded that unless the structural issues are addressed, further reports about SME closures and hardship will do little to change the reality.
He has long advocated for lowering rental costs and developing new support mechanisms for low-wage Singaporeans in terms of food access and affordability.
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