Question

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry what are the Government's efforts to diversify food supplies to ensure price stability of goods over the Chinese New Year period due to the disruptions caused by the Movement Control Order 2.0 and floods in Malaysia.

Written Answer by Minister for Trade & Industry Mr Chan Chun Sing

1. Malaysia's Movement Control Order 2.0 does not affect essential economic sectors, but we are closely monitoring the impact on the logistics chains. The monsoon floods have however resulted in poor crop output, causing price fluctuations in Malaysian vegetables.

2. We have adopted a multi-pronged strategy to manage the risk of disruption of essential supplies. Our major retailers and supermarkets have planned ahead for Chinese New Year, to ensure that a good range of produce remains available, including alternatives from other source countries.

3. We continue to diversify our supply sources. We now import food from more than 170 countries, including eggs from Ukraine, frozen shrimp from Saudi Arabia, and vegetables from China. Diversification remains an important strategy to mitigate any source disruption.

4. While we will continue to do our best to protect our supply of essential food commodities and keep prices stable, these are extraordinary times with many countries still grappling with the impact of COVID-19. We seek the understanding of Singaporeans if they experience minor disruptions or some price volatility during this time.