Launch of Aggregated Local Produce at FairPrice Stores - Dr Koh Poh Koon

REMARKS BY DR KOH POH KOON, SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE, MINISTRY OF SUSTAINABILITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, AT THE LAUNCH OF AGGREGATED LOCAL PRODUCE AT FAIRPRICE STORES

Mr Ken Cheong, CEO, SAFEF

Mr Vipul Chawla, Group CEO, FairPrice Group

Ladies and gentlemen

1 Good morning. It is my honour to be here at the launch of the aggregated local produce under the ‘SG Farmers’ Market’ and ‘The Straits Fish’ brands here at FairPrice stores.

2 This is a significant milestone. We have been working at this for more than a year now, and this is something like a baby we have all been looking forward to getting delivered. This is an important step forward in realising our 30 by 30 vision. I thank SAFEF, FairPrice Group, Cropciti, Farm 52, Grand Pacific Fishery, Hai Sia Seafood, Heng Heng Fish Farm SG, Millenia Farm, Oseme Trading and Singapore Seafood Farm for your strong partnership in making today’s launch possible. They are prepared to be the first movers, and this is an unchartered territory, something that is quite new to the farming and food scene here in Singapore. Prior to this, everyone has been just trying to do their own buying and selling, negotiating on their own with buyers, and trying their very best to meet those demand, but not quite getting that right handshake. So, this is a real change for the industry.

Importance of Local Produce

3 As a small nation with limited resources, we rely on the global food market for our food needs, importing more than 90 per cent of what we consume. This makes us particularly susceptible to food supply disruptions, which are becoming increasingly frequent.

4 Various factors such as disease outbreaks in different parts of the world that produces food, and the recent COVID pandemic that affects not just people but disrupts supply chains around the world are unpredictable and can pose a lot of risks and disruptions to our own food supply chain. Climate change is also impacting global food supply. For instance, the hotter weather in the first half of this year has impacted crop production in numerous countries, including Brazil, India and Malaysia. All of us as consumers can feel the impact of this disruption in the rising food prices because things are becoming more scarce, and the demand has to be met.

5 The world has also become a more challenging place. There are geopolitical tensions in different parts of the world, and the conflict in Ukraine has impacted the prices of food. The grains that are used to feed animals come significantly from Ukraine and the prices have gone up because of disruptions. Food prices have therefore gone up as well. Many of these things that are unpredictable and outside our control have an impact on our food supply.

6 To strengthen our food security, a key strategy we adopt is to diversify our import sources. We import from over 180 countries and regions, hoping that by not putting all our eggs in one basket, we diversify our risk. This has worked well for us. Another key strategy is local food production. The food that we grow locally can act as a form of insurance that buffers us in times of food supply disruptions. This is something that will help strengthen our overall food safety resilience. This is why we embarked on an ambitious 30 by 30 vision to build our local agri-food industry’s capability and capacity to sustainably produce 30 per cent of our nutritional needs by 2030. This is a tall order and our farms are working very hard to achieve this, but this is something that we have to keep trying for.

Demand-Supply Aggregation

7 In our journey to strengthen our food security, it is important that we build a strong agri-food ecosystem where various players synergistically support one another. No one stakeholder can achieve food resilience for Singapore on their own, it takes everyone working together – the producers, buyers, value-adding industries and importantly, consumers. I am heartened that the industry is coming together to help our farmers find more avenues for demand offtake, such as through the matching of demand and supply.

8 In October 2023, the Singapore Agro-Food Enterprises Federation, or SAFEF, together with Seafood Industries Association (Singapore), or SIAS, and At Fresh, a fresh fruit and vegetable distributer, took on the role of a demand and supply aggregator for vegetable and fish products to support our agri-food industry. This aggregator arrangement is a unique one and it facilitates longer-term contracts between farms and buyers, resulting in greater offtake of local produce.

9 Since then, SAFEF, together with SIAS and At Fresh have been speaking to many more food businesses in the hotel, restaurant, and catering sector, as well as supermarket retailers to better understand the industry’s needs and demand for fresh produce. They then worked with local farms to consolidate their production capabilities to meet this demand from buyers.

10 When we engage our partners, we often hear the constraints on both sides – the big buyers want to ensure quantity and consistency, while the small producers worry about trying to produce what buyers will buy. So how do you connect the dots and make sure both understand each other’s needs and constraints, and make sure they have a commitment to one another? This is what this aggregator arrangement is all about, trust and commitment to one another, working together for mutual benefits.

11 In February this year, SAFEF piloted this demand and supply aggregator arrangement. Together with Hai Sia Seafood, it aggregated and processed 200 kg of fish from several fish farms in Singapore and branded it as ‘The Straits Fish’. With additional support from Chang Cheng Group, ‘The Straits Fish’ dishes were officially launched across the Group’s zichar chain, Ming Kitchen Seafood.

12 Today, we have achieved a new milestone in our demand and supply aggregation efforts. In addition to ‘The Straits Fish’ brand, SAFEF has aggregated Asian leafy greens from local vegetable farms under one united brand, the ‘SG Farmers’ Market’ brand. SAFEF and FairPrice Group have now commenced a six-month pilot to sell the ‘SG Farmers’ Market’ vegetable products at 44 FairPrice stores, and ‘The Straits Fish’ products at 20 stores. These products are spread around different parts of the island and are accessible to our consumers. It gives us no reason to say that we cannot find local produce, and there is no reason that we cannot support local produce.

13 I congratulate SAFEF, FairPrice Group and partners on achieving this significant milestone. This aggregated demand-offtake arrangement and longer-term contracting model between farms and buyers will re-shape the way in which our agrifood industry engage and progress. This is changing the structure of the industry in how we engage with one another – from a model of spot pricing and day-to-day negotiations, to one with longer term contracting and more certainty. This will hopefully spur more demand and help shape the way our industry evolves.

Conclusion

14 To our farms, thank you for scaling up your operations to make available a diverse range of fresh local produce. And to FairPrice Group, thank you for being a strong supporter of local produce.

15 The FairPrice Group is doing more to increase the visibility of local produce and will dedicate prominent display shelves for local produce at seven FairPrice Hypermart stores. Just like FairPrice Group has done, I encourage more retailers to come onboard and champion local produce.

16 For the rest of us as consumers, I hope that we can all do our part by supporting local produce. In doing so, we benefit from food that is fresher, can last longer, is safer, and incurs fewer transport miles. Most importantly, by supporting local produce, our collective efforts will help strengthen Singapore’s food security.