S'pore's food stockpiles not meant to influence food prices, says Zaqy

They are maintained to serve as a buffer in times of food supply disruptions

- Chin Hui Shan

Food stockpiles maintained by Singapore are meant to safeguard the country’s food security and not influence food prices, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Zaqy Mohamad said in Parliament on Nov 6.

The stockpiles of essential food items are meant to serve as a buffer in times of food supply disruptions, he said in response to Ms Hany Soh (Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC), who asked about the use of stockpiled food to mitigate any spikes in food supply prices.

Food stockpiling is one of the four pillars of Singapore’s food security strategy to ensure food resilience here, alongside import diversification, local production and global partnerships, Mr Zaqy said.

Currently, by law, Singapore requires only rice to be stockpiled.