SFI project will breed pigs, process and export pork
Lee U-Wen, Business Times 24 Oct 08;
SINGAPORE is beefing up efforts to ensure its food security for the long term, with discussions underway to see how to best develop a 'food zone' in Jilin province in China.
Sharing these plans with Singapore reporters yesterday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that the aim was to build an integrated facility in Jilin city, located in the north-eastern part of China. There, pigs would be bred and farmed, with the pork eventually processed and then exported.
'This is a commercial project between our Singapore Food Industries (SFI) and the Jilin city government, and we have just signed a MOU (memorandum of understanding),' said Mr Lee, who is in Beijing to attend the two-day Asia-Europe Meeting which begins today.
This first-of-its-kind project for Singapore came up during bilateral discussions that Mr Lee held with Chinese leaders yesterday, just after he witnessed the signing of the China-Singapore free trade agreement (FTA).
'As (Chinese Premier) Wen Jiabao said to me, we can develop this and make it successful. Both countries can cooperate on issues of quality and safety in food,' said Mr Lee.
National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, who is also in Beijing as part of Mr Lee's delegation, said that the go-ahead for the project would depend on the results of a joint feasibility study that is expected to be completed in the next six to 12 months.
'In the long term, our goal is to provide a supply of food not just for the local consumption, but also for export to Singapore, in line with our overall objective of ensuring food security,' said Mr Mah.
If successful, the Jilin food zone, in the initial phase alone where it would occupy five to 10 square km of land, could supply up to 10 per cent of Singapore's total pork demand, said Mr Mah.
SFI is a government-linked company. The food zone project will be driven by the private sector, with SFI likely to rope in several partners to form a consortium. The Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) will take on the role of food safety regulator.
While a pig farm is the most ideal way to kick things off, the food zone could well expand to include chicken farming and other products in the longer run.
'Currently, Singapore is buying food from many countries and diversifying its resources to ensure a steady stream of food coming in. Of late, the government has been studying this strategy to see how to build on this and go upstream and get involved in the production of food,' said Mr Mah.
'This food zone project fits in very nicely with that strategy,' he added. 'It can be one of the major suppliers of pork in Singapore, and help significantly in our food resilience.'
Singapore eyesfood zone in Jilin
Loh Chee Kong, Today Online 24 Oct 08;
ONE is a small country with an insatiable demand for food and a reputation for effective administration. The other has abundant resources but lacks the know-how to ensure food safety. Now, Singapore and China are looking to join forces in food production.
Singapore Food Industries (SFI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the local government of Jilin City to carry out feasibility studies — expected to take six months to a year — to build a “food zone”, said Minister of National Development Mah Bow Tan, part of PM Lee’s delegation to China.
“The long term objective of this zone is to provide for supply of food, not just for local consumption but also for export to Singapore ... I think it will help significantly in our food resilience,” he said.
Mr Mah added: “Right now, what we are doing is to buy food from many countries and diversify our sources. One of the areas we need to do is to go upstream and try to look for opportunities where we can get involved in the production of food.”
The proposed food zone in Jilin will initially occupy between five and 10 sq km, with plans to supply five to 10 per cent of Singapore’s demand for pork.
Adding that its eventual size will be “many times bigger”, Mr Mah said: “We’ll probably start off with a pig farm, because this is one of the protein rich products which is suitable for the area, and go on to eggs, chicken farms or other products.”
Recently, China’s food regulatory regime came under fire after several products were found to be unsafe. While not making any reference to the food scare, Mr Mah pointed out that Singapore has a “very rigid and strict safety regulatory regime”.
“If we can implement a similar system to make sure that the food that is produced in this zone meets international standards, I think that would be a very significant contribution from Singapore,” he said.
Singapore eyes 'food zone' as next project
Straits Times 24 Oct 08;
BEIJING: After an industrial park and an eco-city, Singapore and China's next big project could be a 'food zone' in north-eastern Jilin province, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday.
In the first project of its kind, the zone could supply some five to 10 per cent of Singapore's demand for pork, bolstering the country's food security.
While it is a commercial project by government-linked company Singapore Food Industries (SFI), the Government is keen to lend it support.
And PM Lee signalled that by raising the project with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in their meeting yesterday. Mr Lee told Singapore reporters later that Mr Wen said the food zone - believed to be the first that China would embark on with another country - can be developed. SFI signed a memorandum of understanding with the Jilin government on Tuesday to conduct a feasibility study.
National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, who is accompanying Mr Lee on his official visit, told reporters here that the study is expected to take between six months and a year.
If the green light is given, the food zone will be an integrated facility that covers the entire food production system. The plan now is to develop a pig farm, said Mr Mah, but chicken farming may be explored at a later stage.
'The long-term objective of this zone is to provide for supply of food not just for local consumption but also for export to Singapore, which is in line with our overall objective of ensuring food security for Singapore,' he said.
PEH SHING HUEI
