Farm delays, lower demand hit S'pore food production

Local egg output hit by disease outbreak at farm; vegetable, seafood production also dip

- Shabana Begum

Vegetable, seafood and egg production in the Republic fell in 2022 due to dulled demand for local produce and delays in the building and upgrading of farms due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

While local egg production had steadily increased in prior years providing 30.5 percent of eggs consumed here in 2021- the figure fell to 28.9 percent in 2022.

This was due to an outbreak of a disease at a local farm in February 2022, said the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) in its annual food statistics report released on Thursday.

In February 2022, Seng Choon Farm in Lim Chu Kang had an outbreak of Newcastle disease, a viral illness that affects the respiratory, nervous and digestive systems of birds and poultry.

"Local egg production quickly normalised in the subsequent quarter. To manage the disease situation, SFA and the Animal and Veterinary Service worked with the farms to step up their biosecurity measures," said SFA.

Less than 4 percent of vegetables consumed in 2022 came from local farms. The share was 4.3 percent in 2021.

As for seafood, local production fell to 7.6 percent, down from 8 percent in 2021.

Singapore has set a goal to produce 30 percent of its nutritional needs by 2030.

"The Covid-19 pandemic caused delays in the establishment and upgrading plans of new and existing farms, which affected the ability of farms to reach their full production capacity," said SFA.