WITH all the news about falling prices, I have discovered that prices of rice, Australian pork and eggs are still close to the peak of the food shortage projections months ago.

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when will the writer learn like me not to trust Fairprice anymore? They will fleece you the same way as other commercial entities out for profits. Only when enough people realise that their food prices are far too high and should come down - then will they do some `token' largely `cosmetic' adjustments. When the hue and cry die down it is back to the same old tactic of squeezing profits from consumers. I have often wondered if co-operatives should be run this way.

FACTS
1) NTUC IS NOT CHEAP ANYMORE- It has been run like a corporation with good government links
2) PRICES ARE STICKY DOWNWARDS- just because of fluctuations in exhange rates, prices of commodities, do not expect prices to go down quickly to reflect these changes. Economists have observed that prices of a final product adjust quickly to cost-of-prodiction price increases but the reverse is untrue on almost all counts
3) PROFITS FIRST- Singapore Inc is focussed on profits. Government agencies must be seen to 'make money' or at least generate some sort of revenue stream. With this mindset NTUC has lost its purpose of a co-operative.

Does anyone DISAGREE with me?

I too find some products sold at NTUC Fairprice are more expensive than they are sold in other supermarkets.

Fairprice now sells condemned, spoilt, third-grade stuff. If you check some of the vegetables and fruits they sell, you will notice they are infested in a corner. The comptroller indicated that Fairprice is running loss in the year 2007 which probably may be the reason for the reduction in quality. I think Fairprice will now compete with sheng Shiong to be the worst supermarket.

Now even the prices of its house-brand items, have increased gradually over the months. On one hand, they give us 5% discount but on the other, they've increased many of its items by more than 5%. If you fail to keep track of their prices, you’ll fail to notice the increase because they’re smart enough to do it gradually.

I have always known NTUC Fairprice to cut corners in terms of quality. That's why I like to refer to them as NTUC Fatprice. They operate like Mustafa Centre, who price some of their goods cheaply to lull shoppers into believeing that all their goods are reasonably priced.

Check out CK Departmental Store. May not carry as many brands, but enough to choose from. The prices are also generally CHEAPER !

I've no idea whether Fairprice prices are cheaper butI have my doubts on their quality. Occasionally I come across some expired products and what is interesting is once I noticed there were heavy condensations on milk cartons. I thought the chiller was out of order. When I brought it to the attention to their staff, she explained that to save energy, they have adjusted the theromostat so that it lowers and increases the temperature of the chiller. Although I did not comment further on this I did not buy milk that day because I'm certainly dont want milk that's dripping with condensations......

Fairprice. Are the prices fair?

In fact, overall prices of most foodstuffs at Sheng Siong are fairly cheaper than those at FP (FatProfit)