Kuala Lampur, April 12 --  

SINGAPORE, April 13 - Singapore manufacturers are facing cost pressures from the Middle East energy crisis that they say are worse than during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to The Straits Times.

Soya sauce maker Thomas Pek, managing director of Tai Hua Food Industries, told the English daily that the surge in oil-related disruptions has driven up costs across packaging, transport, production and freight.

"During the pandemic, our costs did not increase so much. But this crisis is worse than the pandemic," he was quoted as saying. 

He said industry diesel has jumped from $1.20 per litre in late February to $3 per litre on April 10, while packaging costs linked to PET resin shortages have al...