The organic food industry is a global multi-billion dollar giant that some say could provide a boost to Singapore’s agricultural industry and help prop up sales of organic produce here.
The Kranji farmlands of Singapore are a stark contrast to the bustling city streets that Singapore is renowned for.
Singapore currently imports more than 90 percent of its food, but farmers say with more support agriculture could become a bustling industry.
Ivy Singh-Lim, Founder of Bollywood Veggies, said: “We produce only 4 to 5 percent of our own food…years ago we produced enough even for export. I think the biggest issue in Singapore is the high cost of properties and because the government owns 75 percent of land and rest by big corporations, the (farmers) trying to do business are at the suffering end.
That is the major factor that is causing people to not look at food production, and the production of goods and services which is so necessary. So everyone is trying to take a short cut in making money.”
The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority says it has been working closely with farmers to increase their production.
It wants to raise self-sufficiency levels for eggs to 30 percent from 24 percent in 2011, fish to 15 percent from 7 percent and leafy vegetables to 10 percent from 7 percent.
Currently, Singapore does not have a widely recognised official organic food standard, however the AVA has in place food surveillance programme to ensure that food products in Singapore are safe for consumption and appropriately labelled.
But some say a local organic label could boost branding and credibility.
Audrey Chia, Professor, NUS Business School, said: “I think it would help farmers because they can then claim they have met a certain standard to what the customer is expecting and that helps the brand equity….So if we are talking about big producers they are the ones that should go for the certification.”
Supermarket chain Cold Storage says it will support if there is an initiative by the local authorities for local standards to be set.
Presently Cold Storage sources and imports its organic goods from all over the world including countries such as UK, Australia, Japan and Malaysia.
Nature’s Glory, an organic food supplier in Singapore, says that around 80 percent of the products on its shelves come from Australia or Japan, but if there is a local certification then it would like to see more local produce on its shelves.
Peter Lim, Founder of Nature’s Glory, said: “Fresh fruits and vegetables come from Australia because Australia is very strict (about) genetic modification.
Scientists have confirmed that genetically-modified food has the potential to cause abnormal growth.
Insect don’t eat it, so if insect don’t eat it, why should we eat it? I think we should support local produce provided they follow certain strict standards and are independently audited by a certifying association.”
Other retailers add that locally certified organic produce could also bring down the cost for retailers, as the price tag of fresh products from overseas can be weighed down by import and transport charges.
Lower cost of local produce they say could bring down the cost of fresh organic produce and increase consumer appetite for such products.
Supermarket chain Cold Storage says 10 to 25 percent of its food imports on a monthly basis are organic.
