​SPEECH OUTLINE FOR MR LIM HNG KIANG, MINISTER FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY (TRADE), AT THE SINGAPORE FOOD MANUFACTURERS’ ASSOCIATION (SFMA) 50TH ANNIVERSARY GOLDEN JUBILEE GALA DINNER ON FRIDAY, 29 SEP 2017, 7:00 PM AT THE SHANGRI-LA HOTEL

1.            I am delighted to join you here this evening to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Singapore Food Manufacturers’ Association, or SFMA.

Strong Growth of the Singapore Food Manufacturing Industry

2.            Food manufacturing is one of Singapore’s strengths. With our excellent standing in food safety, quality, consistency and value, the food manufacturing industry has seen significant growth. In 2015, the food manufacturing industry contributed a substantive value-add of S$3.7 billion to Singapore’s GDP and employed about 40,000 workers. Exports have grown at a compound annual rate of 6.1% in the last five years, with more than half exported to countries such as Japan and China.

SFMA’s Role in Driving Industry Transformation for the Food Manufacturing Industry

3.            SFMA has played an important role to drive the growth of the industry since its inception in 1967. Starting from a base of 20 members to some 400 members today, SFMA is well-positioned to champion initiatives to enhance the value proposition and competitiveness of our food manufacturers.

4.            With the launch of the Food Manufacturing Industry Transformation Map (ITM) in November 2016, strategies have been laid out for the industry to help our local companies remain competitive, and to develop Singapore into a leading food and nutrition hub in Asia.

5.            To help achieve this, SFMA has led several industry initiatives to drive productivity improvement, innovation and internationalisation efforts.

Food Innovation Product Award (FIPA)

6.            A key initiative which SFMA has championed is the Food Innovation Product Award (FIPA), undertaken in collaboration with SPRING Singapore and industry partners.

7.            Since 2016, FIPA has brought together close to 50 teams of food manufacturers and students from Institutes of Higher Learning to collaborate and create new and exciting food products. It gives food manufacturers the chance to develop new innovation capabilities and enhance their competitive edge in local and overseas markets. For example, PS Food and Beverage collaborated with Nanyang Polytechnic to extract ingredients from the graviola (soursop) leaf and developed a new product called Graviola Leaf Tea, which is now sold in retail stores and on e-commerce platforms.

Tasty Singapore

8.            In internationalisation, SFMA has been working closely with IE Singapore and its overseas counterparts to lead about 15 overseas tradeshows and retail supermarket promotion annually, to countries such as Dubai, Germany, Netherlands, China, India and Indonesia, through the Tasty Singapore branding.

9.            Through such activities, we have seen many good cases of companies breaking into new markets. For example, Gold Kili, a beverage manufacturer, secured their first trial shipment of instant drinks into the Middle East via Gulfood, the world’s largest food and beverage exhibition held in Dubai.

Other initiatives

10.         Looking ahead, there is more we can do to strengthen our food manufacturing sector.  I am glad that SFMA will be strengthening its secretariat and management capabilities through SPRING’s Local Enterprise and Association Development Plus (LEAD+) programme. I am also pleased that SFMA will be taking a lead role in banding together food manufacturers and other industries’ Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs) in projects to provide more growth and transformation opportunities for our food manufacturers. It is only through partnerships with industry stakeholders that we would be able to co-create innovative solutions and further drive success of the industry.

The Government is committed to helping our SMEs and startups build deep capabilities and scale up

11.         The Government is fully committed to helping our SMEs and startups build deep capabilities and scale up. The recent announcement on the formation of Enterprise Singapore underscores the Government’s commitment to adapt to the changing economic environment, and to strengthen the support for our enterprises.

12.         The new agency will build upon SPRING’s expertise in helping our SMEs build deep capabilities, and IE’s core strength in internationalisation, to provide food manufacturing companies with a more holistic and integrated network of end-to-end support from product conceptualisation to exports.

Conclusion

13.         Let me close by encouraging more of our food manufacturers to come forward to support SFMA’s efforts and embark on their business transformation journeys.

14.         I congratulate SFMA for its many achievements in helping the industry in the past 50 years and your continued leadership in growing the food manufacturing industry.

15.         Thank you.