SINGAPORE: From being a minor market for Australia’s poultry meat, Singapore has become one of its most valuable through the introduction of streamlined import processes.
The republic imported 9% or S$7.2mil (RM23.8mil) worth of Australia’s total poultry products in 2022.
The streamlining, first announced by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) in June 2022, saw Australian poultry imports being temporarily exempted from government veterinary inspections before and after the birds were slaughtered.
The temporary exemption led to a 54% increase in Australia’s exports of poultry to Singapore from June to July in 2022, compared with the same period in 2021. This exemption was made permanent in September.
The following month, both countries extended their cooperation further with the signing of a Green Economy Agreement, which outlines a set of green economy principles and the scope of cooperation in seven areas including trade, carbon markets and clean energy.
These include collaborating on ideas and initiatives that promote best practices for sustainable agri-food systems aimed at addressing global food security concerns, among other issues.
On Saturday, Amelia Walsh, trade and investment commissioner to Singapore for the Australian Trade and Investment Commission, attended the launch of Cold Storage’s Taste of Australia Fair, which features imported produce from Australia.
She said: “We are very pleased to partner Cold Storage to bring the Taste of Australia fair to stores across the island, highlighting the premium range of Australian products available on shelves.”
Malaysia halted the export of chickens between June and October 2022 to address surging prices and a shortage of the poultry in the country. Singapore turned to other sources such as Thailand and Brazil, and increased imports of the most widely consumed meat here from these countries.
According to data from the SFA, Singapore imported about 34%, or close to 73,000 tonnes, of its chicken supply from Malaysia in 2021.
The republic has also taken steps to diversify its imports of eggs and started bringing them in from Brunei in December 2022.
This means Singapore now imports eggs from 17 countries, including Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, Spain and Poland. — The Straits Times/ANN
