Consumers unhappy as coffee shops raise beer prices beyond appropriate levels

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Despite a warning against profiteering by the Government, a random check by TODAY on 10 coffee shops found that all have raised the prices of beer beyond the levels deemed appropriate.

The price of a bottle of beer was raised by 50 to 60 cents, while prices of canned beer were 30 cents higher.

As of 5pm yesterday, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) had also received four complaints — all lodged yesterday — against jacked-up alcohol prices, its Executive Director Seah Seng Choon said.

Most customers reacted calmly to the hikes, but shop assistants said some were angry. One coffee shop assistant at Ang Mo Kio Central 2 said some customers kicked up a fuss when the hike was introduced. “They said the price hike was like robbery,” she said.

Customers who spoke to TODAY complained about the steep and sudden rise in prices. One consumer, Mr Chandra, who drinks beer four times a week, felt that coffee shops were profiteering by selling old stocks of beer that were bought before the increase in excise duties at higher prices, and that a date should have been set for the price increases to kick in.