Felda Chay Business Times 4 Mar 11;
SINGAPORE has implemented a range of measures to ensure that its food supply remains resilient against global food price movements and supply issues.
One of the steps the government has taken to ensure this includes promoting local farming of eggs, fish and leafy vegetables, said Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman, senior parliamentary secretary for national development, who was responding to questions in Parliament.
He added that Singapore now supplies 23 per cent of the country's demand for eggs. It also accounts for 4 per cent of fish and 7 per cent of leafy vegetable supplies.
Dr Maliki said that Singapore's aim is to produce 30 per cent of its demand for eggs, 15 per cent of fish and 10 per cent of leafy vegetables consumed here. To reach these targets in land- scarce Singapore, farm capabilities and productivity need to be raised, he said.
The government has also been encouraging local firms to move into upstream sourcing, said Dr Maliki. 'For example, companies could undertake contract farming directly with farmers for an agreed amount and price of goods.
'Our companies will then have better leverage over the food production chain. An example is NTUC, which purchases vegetables through contracts with Indonesian farms,' said Dr Maliki.
However, he noted that Singapore cannot control global food prices and supply directly, and that having to import more than 90 per cent of its food makes it a price taker.
Rising food prices have been, and continue to be, a cause for concern for many economies worldwide. The sharp increase in food prices have prompted central banks across South-east Asia to tighten monetary policy by raising interest rates to curb rising prices. In Singapore, food prices rose 2.8 per cent in January this year, as compared with a year ago.
