Lower fish supplies from region driving up prices ahead of Lunar New Year

Channel NewsAsia 7 Jan 12;

SINGAPORE: It will be Lunar New Year in a few weeks but fish markets in Geylang are not as busy as they have been in previous years.

The supply of fish from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand for the new year is expected to slip to half its usual volume.

Fishmongers say recent bad weather and rising oil prices have made fishermen reluctant to go out in their boats.

The lower supplies are driving up prices and overall, prices are up between 30 per cent and 50 per cent.

In contrast, the price of frozen fish is relatively stable.

In his blog, Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan said Singaporeans are eating more frozen fish than fresh fish because of changing lifestyles.

And he urged fishermen to take note of this trend as they formulate future business plans.

- CNA/fa

Frozen fish goes down well with Singaporeans
Amanda Tan & Huang Lijie Straits Times 7 Jan 12;

SINGAPOREANS are showing a greater appetite for frozen fish, doubling consumption over the past decade.

Citing figures from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA), National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in a blog post yesterday that the consumption of frozen fish had increased from 17,150 tonnes in 2002 to 34,297 tonnes in 2010.

But demand for chilled fish - kept fresh by ice at a temperature close to 0 deg C - has dipped. Frozen fish is kept at temperatures below 0 deg C.

Mr Khaw wrote about his visit to Jurong Fishery Port last month, when he heard that business had dipped in previous years. This was despite the fact that Singaporeans were the second-largest consumers of fish per capita in Asia, after the Japanese.

He cited statistics from the AVA which showed that at Jurong Fishery Port, the amount of fish handled had dropped by 24 per cent in the last decade.

At Singapore's other fishery port in Senoko, the drop was 32 per cent.

'Within a decade, the market share of chilled/live fish has shrunk from about 80 per cent to 60 per cent. And the declining trend is likely to continue,' he wrote.

'This also explains why wet markets are losing market share to supermarkets. This reflects (the) modern lifestyle of nuclear families with working couples.'

At NTUC FairPrice, sales of both chilled and frozen fish have increased by about 10 to 15 per cent, while sales of live fish have remained relatively stable.

Mr Tng Ah Yiam, the chain's managing director for group purchasing, merchandising and international trading, said: 'We expect to increase our supply of frozen fish by about 15 per cent this year due to the limited supply of chilled and live fish.'

Similarly, daily sales of frozen fish at supermarket chain Sheng Siong had increased over the last four years by at least 50 per cent, while demand for fresh and chilled fish slipped by at least 20 per cent over the same period.

Mr Goh Thiam Chwee, vice-president of the Singapore Fish Merchant's General Association, said prices for frozen fish could be as much as 30 per cent cheaper because supplies, unlike those of fresh catches, were stable.

He added that advances in freezing techniques had made it possible for frozen fish to maintain much of the freshness and quality of fresh and chilled seafood.

Consultant chef Sam Leong said there is no discernible difference in taste between frozen and fresh fish when the fish is deep-fried or pan-fried.

He added, however, that frozen fish is significantly tougher in texture than fresh fish when steamed because the freezing process causes the fish to lose moisture.