A “wide range of alternative sources” for Singapore’s egg supply is currently available, and that includes local farms, according to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) on Thursday (13 Dec).
The authority’s statement was made in response to Malaysia’s Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail’s announcement regarding the country’s plans to reduce or halt the export of eggs as a means of preserving a steady supply for the domestic market.
While AVA maintains that Singapore’s importers are still getting their usual egg supplies from Malaysia,” the Authority’s “food diversification strategy” also entails having a broad selection of sources for the Republic’s egg supply.
It added that 73 per cent of Singapore’s market for eggs consisted of eggs imported from Malaysia in 2017 alone.
Approximately a quarter of the egg supply in Singapore is produced by local farms.
The remaining supply comes from licenced farms in several countries such as Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.
The Straits Times reported that while egg supplies in supermarkets have not undergone disruption with the availability of eggs from local farms such as Chew’s Agriculture and Seng Choon, such farms might not adequately support the need for greater supply in the event of the sudden cessation of egg supply from Malaysia.
Channel NewsAsia reported that around 40 per cent of the eggs sold at NTUC Fairprice comes from Singapore’s northern neighbour, with a price increase of 5 per cent observed in the last week alone, while “more than half” of Sheng Shiong’s egg supply comes from Malaysia.
Sheng Shiong, according to Channel NewsAsia, is now looking into sourcing eggs from Thailand.
However, it is uncertain if prices can maintain for consumers as there have been feedback from the ground that eggs have been priced higher since the announcement by the Malaysian Minister.
