FOOD SHORTAGE IN SINGAPORE 1945-50

Abstract

The subject of food supply had been a constant governmental concern given Singapore's almost complete reliance on external sources of food. In the pre-war period, food security had been jeopardized on a number of occasions. The aftermath of the Second World War saw to the recreation of such an adverse situation but at a much more critical level. The post-war food shortage, however, did not result in the population being in a state of starvation. This was attributable to the fact that a range of survival tactics were employed by the people to counter the effects of food scarcity. The inflation which attended scarcity implied a tremendous increase in the subsistence cost of the population . To a large extent, the increase in the cost of living was the result of the persistence purchases of Black Market rice which was superior in quality as compared to rationed rice. In the course of reconstructing the economy, the government faced a dilemma when labour demanded an upward revision in the wage level. The fear of a wage-price effect coming into existence had initially caused the government to resist such pressures. However, it eventually conceded to labour's demand in view of the substantial increase in the cost of living which was, to a large extent, driven by Black Market purchases. It is presently proposed that the above concession was, in part, granted because of the inefficiency of the International Emergency Food Council system of food allocation. In effect, the government was forced to be a patron of an illegal system. Food shortages, along with the implementation of certain policies to aid economic rehabilitation, also caused certain social psychological changes. Propaganda directed at the alteration of these mind-sets therefore figured prominently as part of the government's plan to restore the food supply.