S’poreans Have Easiest Access To Cheap Food In The World, According To Study By The Economist

Singapore Ranks 1st In Overall Score For Food Availability, Accessibility, & Safety

Another day, another survey ranks Singapore in first place.

This time, we were surveyed on food – and food is clearly something we take great pride in.

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The survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and supported by agricultural company Corteva Agriscience ranks 113 countries’ food security through 3 factors:

• Food affordability — ability to purchase food, and preparation level in case prices increase suddenly
• Access to food — whether food is sufficient for the population, as well as risk of supplies being disrupted.
• Safety and nutrition — variety and nutritional quality of diets, and food safety.

Singapore’s overall rating of 87.4 is unchanged from last year.

Here’s the list of the top 10 countries, so you can bask at our rating.

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The full list can be viewed here.

Long list of strengths, zero weaknesses

Affordability is likely boosted by the fact that our hawker centres are extremely cheap as far as prices go. We’re only 2nd to Qatar in that score.

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Affordability also measures the impact on Singaporeans when prices increase suddenly, as well as the measures available when they occur. The government has policies in place as food prices increase around the world, sourcing from more countries than ever for food.

In fact, as Straits Times reports, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) now imports food from over 180 countries.

This also factors into the availability rating, which Singapore scored 2nd in as well. Singaporeans are not starving – at all. This is a huge achievement considering our complete lack of natural resources.

Nutritional quality can be improved

One thing the survey does not measure is taste. However, as far as nutritional quality go, we perhaps do not get as much as other countries – ranking only 25th out of the 113 countries.

However, the fact that we do not starve is already a major advantage, and the authorities have ensured this over the years.

But the government can’t force people to get a balanced diet – while food is indeed very cheap, we can do more in feeding ourselves not only cheaply, but also healthily.

Featured image adapted from Flickr.