Countries May Stop Exports Due To Shortages, PM Lee Urges S’poreans To Have Flexible Food Choices

Singapore Diversified Food Supplies Even Before Countries Started Limiting Exports

In the past month, chickens have been the talk of the town in Singapore after Malaysia’s export ban affected supplies.

On Saturday (25 Jun), Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, where he addressed the issue.

He shared that Singapore had been diversifying its food supplies since the Covid-19 pandemic.

After finding additional sources for chickens and eggs, authorities are now looking for new vegetable sources.

PM Lee stressed that more would need to be done as supply disruptions continue.

Disruptions to food supplies were anticipated

According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), several countries have recently been clamping down on food exports and prioritising local supply amid soaring prices.

Speaking at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on Saturday (25 Jun), PM Lee said this is worrying but not surprising.

He cited the recent example of Singapore being affected by Malaysia’s chicken export ban, a domino effect of the Ukraine war disrupting grain export, causing a feedstock shortage.

As Singapore is a food importer, PM Lee stressed that this situation is worrying for the country.

But thankfully, Singapore has anticipated disruptions to its poultry supply, vegetables, and carbohydrates since the start of the pandemic.

PM Lee said Singapore had built up stockpiles to a higher level and diversified its supply sources.

Currently, Singapore imports over 90% of its food, reported The Straits Times (ST). Diversification is a key strategy in ensuring our food security.

Efforts to improve diversification led to Singapore buying chickens from Brazil and eggs from Ukraine and Poland today. Now, Singapore is also looking for new vegetable sources.

Will continue diversifying food supplies

PM Lee said diversifying food sources is something we have to do and have been doing for some time. This is why we were able to cope when our Malaysian chicken supplies were cut.

Nonetheless, he believes the problem will persist.

“More will need to be done”, he said, adding that the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) is actively working on this now as “the problem will continue”.

PM Lee also urged Singaporeans to understand the situation and be flexible in their food preferences and habits.

For example, if kampung chicken is unavailable, we can get frozen ones. This will make it much easier to tide through these difficult times, CNA reported.

Urged countries not to become protectionists

Recently, some countries have banned food exports due to disruptions caused by the Ukraine-Russia conflict. ST reported that this includes Malaysia’s chicken export ban, as well as India’s plans to restrict sugar exports to curb surging domestic prices.

In fact, according to PM Lee, the war is likely to carry on for some time.

This is bad news for the rest of the world, as the war will bring “uncertainty, instability, tensions, the possibility of miscalculation and escalation, wider extension of the conflict”.

Some consequences include inflation and food supply disruptions during a time when the pandemic is still ongoing.

PM Lee opined that countries are not supposed to close their markets when there is a supply shortage based on the World Trade Organization rules.

However, this is what governments do when subjected to pressure.

He urged countries not to become protectionists against this backdrop of pandemic-induced supply chain shocks.

Be flexible in food preferences

News of food shortages and countries limiting their exports have certainly been worrying.

While this will invariably affect Singapore, we can trust that authorities are well prepared to handle the situation.

On our part, we can help by opting for alternatives whenever our preferred food options are in short supply. This way, we can all overcome these challenging times together.

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Featured image adapted from Marina Bay Sands.