SINGAPORE: The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority
(AVA) has urged consumers to complement the government's efforts
and support the local farming industry by buying local
produce.
AVA's CEO Tan Poh Hong said support from consumers
for local produce, such as eggs, will help spur local farms to
increase their production to meet bigger demand. This she said will
in turn ensure the sustainability of local farms.
AVA said consumers are assured of the quality and
freshness of local produce, a result of the stringent production
and quality control procedures local farms adhere to, as well as
the short delivery time from farm to retail outlets.
Ms Tan said: "While we have been looking at the supply side,
helping farmers to increase their productivity through technology
and extension services and so, we feel that it is also important to
get our consumers to support the local produce as well."
About 23 per cent of eggs consumed in Singapore are produced
locally and AVA's aim is to increase that to 30 per cent. AVA said
local production is an important secondary strategy in ensuring
food supply resilience for Singapore.
To this end, the government will continue to promote local farming,
with the aim to raise self-sufficiency levels for eggs, fish and
leafy vegetables to 30 per cent, 15 per cent and 10 per cent
respectively.
The quality of eggs produced by local chicken layer farms is
assured under AVA's Singapore Quality Egg Scheme (SQES).
This voluntary quality assurance scheme was first introduced in
1999. All three local chicken layer farms are currently registered
under this scheme.
Under SQES, local poultry layer farms are required to ensure that
their facilities are hygienic and quality control monitoring
systems are well maintained at all times.
The eggs produced undergo monthly inspection and freshness tests by
AVA to verify their quality. The date of production and farm code
are also stamped on every egg to ensure traceability.
AVA, which has recently revised the Singapore Quality Egg Scheme
logo to increase its visibility and highlight the quality of local
eggs, is urging customers to look out for the logo. And it seems to
be working, with retail outlets here saying the revised logo has
helped.
Mui-Kok Kah Wei, Purchasing and Merchandising Director with NTUC
FairPrice, said: "Our local household consumers who shop in
supermarkets have a very high acceptance for local eggs, and they
value the quality and the safety assurance from AVA and they value
the freshness as well, and probably they put a lot of premium on it
being produced by local producers."
Currently about 45 per cent of eggs at NTUC FairPrice, are locally
sourced, and the supermarket giant is hoping to increase this.
However, FairPrice said it would still offer eggs from other
sources to diversify and to ensure stability of supplies.
Ms Mui-Kok said: "We would always like to support our local
producers and if consumers accept these eggs, and the local
suppliers can cope with it, we certainly hope to increase the
supply.
"But having said that, we are in line with our diversification
strategies to ensure stability of supplies, we would still want to
balance the sources of supply for eggs."
Suppliers here are also stepping up production, with the help of
AVA's S$10 million Food Farm grant last year.
Local chicken farm Seng Choon Farm said it has increased egg
production from 300,000 to 400,000 since the grant.
Koh Yeow Koon, MD of Seng Choon Farm, said: "For local eggs,
because the production is in Singapore, so definitely its faster to
get to the market, so in terms of freshness, its definitely a very
fresh egg. With freshness and quality, I think it is a good choice
for consumers to pick eggs from Singapore."
- CNA/cc/ac