Singapore Food Security Remains Resilient Despite Malaysia Lockdown

Singapore has topped the Global Food Security Index developed by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and Corteva Agriscience for two years straight in 2019, which assesses accessibility to affordable and nutritional food.

However, with more than 90 percent of food imported, the country is still vulnerable to food supply chain shocks especially in times of crisis like the current COVID-19 outbreak.

Malaysia has recently implemented a lockdown of the country, restricting movement of citizens across its borders in efforts to reduce spread of the virus. Although this has triggered fears of insufficient food supplies, Ministry of Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing addressed that there is months’ worth of stockpile at the national level and the nation is prepared for this disruption.

He noted that Singapore will manage this disruption through a combination of strategies including stockpiling, local production and diversification of overseas sources. Moreover, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong assured that the flow of goods and cargo between Singapore and Malaysia which includes food supplies, will continue.

According to Singapore Food Agency (SFA), Malaysia accounted for 37 percent, 72 percent, 15 percent, 39 percent and 41 percent of the nation’s chicken, egg, fish, fruits and vegetable supply in 2019. However, Singapore has diversified its food supply and imports of food from more than 170 countries and will continue to tap on these alternative sources during this time. Furthermore, with efforts in developing the growing local agri-food industry, local production can also act as a buffer during this disruption. “We are working with our local agri-food industry to achieve our vision of producing 30 per cent of Singapore’s nutritional needs locally by 2030,” said a spokesperson from SFA.

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