How Singapore produce can win over price-conscious consumers

Local producers and retailers must better understand consumers' psyche.

- May O. Lwin and Jack Ho

Consumers here enjoy remarkable access to a diverse and abundant selection of food produce, thanks to Singapore's strong global trade links and efficient supply chains.

Cooking chicken for dinner? Choose from fresh, chilled, frozen, pre-seasoned, precooked options from Malaysia, Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand and more.

With such abundance, it's easy to overlook how dependent Singapore remains on imports. Over 90 per cent of our food comes from abroad.

Yet, in recent years, Singaporeans have been encouraged to support locally grown foods and to view the price difference as a “co-investment” in national food resilience – an insurance against disruptions that might come about due to pandemics, trade wars and climate change.

Honourable as this call-to-action is, the reality is that most consumers are unwilling to pay more simply because produce is “Made in Singapore.” If that label alone doesn’t persuade, what will it take to convince Singaporeans to choose local?

HIGHER COSTS, HIGHER PRICES

Given Singapore's limited land and high operating costs, it is no surprise that locally produced eggs, vegetables, fish and seafood are costlier to produce and buy. This is a reality acknowledged by policymakers, farmers, retailers and consumers.

Local vegetables are about 30 per cent more expensive than imported ones. Yet, based on a recent nationally representative dipstick survey that we had conducted at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, only 6 per cent of consumers were willing to pay 30 per cent or more for local produce.

This is worrying news for local farms and the institutions supporting them. If Singapore hopes to grow the market share of locally produced food, it needs to better understand what drives consumer choices.