Today-May 27
Singapore has been building its food resiliency with buffer stocks and by diversifying its sources, so that it can cope when any single source is disrupted, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Friday (May 27). Speaking to media at the end of a four-day working visit to Tokyo, Japan, Mr Lee was replying to a question on how Singapore will be responding to other countries’ export bans — and if it will seek redress at the World Trade Organization (WTO). He said the answer to such a situation “is not what we do now, but what we have been doing now for several years, which has been to build up our buffer stocks and our resiliency, and diversify our sources”. “So that (when) any single source is interrupted, we are not unduly affected. And if you can’t buy chicken from one place, you can buy chickens from other countries.” He added: “This time it is chicken, next time it may be something else. We have to be prepared for this.” He also said it was “regrettable” that countries have begun raising export controls, as this adversely impacts Singapore, a consumer country that imports food. But he added that it is “not so surprising” that such things happen. Presently, food supply chains are being disrupted because of the Ukrainian war and inflation is also high, he said. Singapore has signed up to the IPEF, which was launched on Monday. Read more at: https://www.todayonline.com/world/singapore-has-built-food-resiliency-buffer-stocks-and-diversified-sources-cope-disruptions-pm-lee-1910051
