Shop for SG Fresh Produce at the FairPrice Xtra at Kallang Wave Mall within the Singapore Sports Hub after your jog, gym or sports sessions at the Hub.
PHOTO: FAIRPRICE GROUP
You may have noticed that some products at the supermarket now bear this bright red logo:
This is the SG Fresh Produce logo, created in consultation with over 30 local farmers, retailers and industry associations. Launched by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) two months ago, it is being progressively rolled out to local produce sold via both offline and online channels.
One such supermarket carrying SG Fresh Produce is, of course, a home-grown brand and one of Singapore’s largest retailers, NTUC FairPrice. While it is still early days for locally produced products to bear this new logo, FairPrice Group’s Chief Procurement Officer, Mr Tng Ah Yiam, gives a good idea about the amount of locally made products and local produce available to consumers.
Mr Tng says: “Currently, FairPrice carries over 6,500 locally made products ranging from vegetables, fish and eggs to canned food, condiments and household cleaners. Locally farmed fish and vegetables each make up about 10 per cent of our fish and vegetable supplies. About 50 per cent of eggs sold at FairPrice are sourced from local farms.”
In FairPrice’s vegetable aisle alone, you will find local growers Pasar, Kok Fah, Sky Greens, Yili, Citiponics, Kin Yan and Chiam Joo Seng, amongst others — many of which are household names.
One such outlet is the FairPrice Xtra at Kallang Wave Mall within the Singapore Sports Hub, where you can shop for SG Fresh Produce after your jog, gym or sports sessions at the Hub.
FairPrice Group’s Chief Procurement Officer, Mr Tng Ah Yiam, says the retailer has been championing local food producers for many years.
PHOTO: FAIRPRICE GROUP
Championing the cause
Stocking the shelves with local products is just one part of FairPrice’s holistic strategy to support home-grown producers. The retailer also works hard to raise the awareness of these brands — since 2012, it has been organising annual Made In Singapore and Best Of Singapore Flavours fairs and even defrays part of the advertising costs for participating local vendors.
However, the real effort goes on behind the scenes, via the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Suppliers Support and Development Programme (SSDP) introduced by FairPrice 11 years ago.
Mr Tng explains: “The SSDP is designed to enhance business capabilities and ease business challenges such as cash flow for local SMEs. In 2019 alone, FairPrice invested $1.32 million in SSDP to benefit 420 SME suppliers.”
Some Singapore producers that have benefited from the programme include vertical farming specialist Sky Greens; Citiponics, which runs urban rooftop vegetable farms at HDB carparks; and the technologically advanced Metropolitan Fishery Group, whose products go by the brand The Fish Farmer.
While local produce may be slightly more expensive, it is often fresher.
PHOTO: FAIRPRICE GROUP
Forging our food future together
Food security and Singapore’s “30 by 30” goal to produce 30 per cent of our nutritional needs locally by 2030 are now even more important than ever, underscored by Covid-19 and its disruption of the supply chain.
According to the SFA, Singapore currently imports more than 90 per cent of its food from about 170 countries and regions. As of 2019, our 220 farms collectively produced 14 per cent of leafy vegetables, 26 per cent of eggs and 10 per cent of fish.
Mr Tng weighs in on this: “Buying locally further supports national efforts to bolster our food security by enhancing our ability to produce our own food. Choosing home-grown produce also has its advantages, which includes reducing the overall carbon footprint in terms of logistics, enhanced traceability, and greater food safety and quality assurance.”
Locally grown produce is also often fresher due to the faster delivery between the point of harvest and point of sale, he adds.
While we are well-aware of the above advantages, some of us may still be deterred from buying local produce as it may be slightly pricier. But this may soon change for the better as more of us support Singapore growers.
Mr Tng notes: “Over the years, with increased awareness and education regarding local produce and its advantages, we have seen a stable increase in the demand of local produce — which in time, will translate to the higher affordability of local produce.
“We take this opportunity to urge other retailers and our customers to join us in our ongoing efforts to support locally made products.”
