April 4, 2023
SINGAPORE – Eggs from Indonesia will soon occupy local supermarket shelves after the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) approved the import of eggs from the country to the Republic on Monday.
The addition of Indonesia brings the number of Singapore’s egg exporters to 18, up from just 12 in 2019, SFA said, with eggs from Brunei approved for import in December 2022.
Around two-thirds of Singapore’s eggs are imported, with the vast majority coming from Malaysia while the rest are sourced from countries like Thailand, Australia, Poland, New Zealand, Ukraine, Korea and Spain. The remaining one-third is produced domestically.
In a Facebook post, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said she was happy to announce Indonesia as a new source of eggs for Singapore.
She said: “This is another step forward in our efforts to diversify Singapore’s egg supply – after all, the conventional wisdom is not to put all your eggs in one basket!
“While we continue to strengthen our food security, we also recognise that no country can be spared from uncertainties in the global food supply. For instance, the worldwide egg shortage situation has been the result of an unprecedented avian flu outbreak, supply chain issues, and the rising costs of feed and fuel.”
Ms Fu also encouraged Singaporeans to be mindful of potential disruptions, as well as to stay flexible with food and ingredient choices, and adapt to new food sources.
The SFA said supply fluctuations cannot be ruled out, citing recent bird flu outbreaks in several countries that have affected the production of poultry and eggs.
The agency called for food businesses to take steps in contributing to Singapore’s food resilience by implementing business continuity plans such as the diversification of import sources.
Previously, only salted or preserved eggs from Indonesia were allowed to be imported to Singapore. A spokesman for the SFA said that one farm so far in Indonesia, Farm Panamping in the Banten region west of Jakarta, has gained approval for fresh egg exports to Singapore.
The spread of the H5N1 virus, an avian flu affecting birds and poultry, is of concern to poultry and egg farmers, and has hit global production hard.
In June 2022, Indonesia also was approved by SFA as a source of chilled, frozen and processed chicken for import to Singapore following a Malaysian export ban on fresh broiler hens.