The title picture is from IC photo, this article is from WeChat public account: Urban Evolution (ID: urban_evolution) , author: Wen Qiao
In the early hours of the morning, on the evening of March 23, the Singapore mark seemed particularly crowded.
“Drip, drip, drip.” The security check sounded regularly, and the crowd waiting to pass the check looked anxiously from time to time.
Since 23:59 on March 23, Singapore has officially pressed the “Pause Button” for short-term visitor entry and transit. At about the same time, Singapore Airlines announced that it would reduce its capacity by 96% until the end of April. The decline in international flights has caused many foreigners to worry about making it difficult to make their way home.
This is a difficult decision for this highly internationalized island nation.
Singapore night view Photo source: Photograph Network
Since independence in 1965, Singapore, with a land area of only 700 square kilometers, has become one of the fastest-growing economies in the world with its open genes. However, the more open and international the epidemic is, the more it meansThe greater the crisis we face.
Not long ago, a “blockade order” on the border of neighbouring Malaysia also made Singapore smell uneasy. The public began to be vigilant about the risk of supplies being cut off, and there was another “purchase tide” in Singapore.
Although the government has repeatedly appeased people, stressing that there are sufficient reserves and freight channels will not be closed, the problem facing Singapore is real: in the face of the global crisis, Singapore, which is highly dependent on imports, can plan ahead and prevent supplies Confessions?
01 Import dependencies
On March 16, Malaysia announced that the two-week border restraint order will be formally implemented two days later. Soon, Shunan studying abroad in Singapore really felt the “crazy” of snapping.
Singapore people queue up at the supermarket to check out. Image source: Provided by the respondent.
“There have been several waves of snap-ups, and the supermarket has almost been emptied.” Shunan told Uncle Cheng, “The most in demand is food and paper, but when it is rushed, nothing is left.”
Fortunately, this situation did not last long. Shunan revealed that the local food supply is still adequate and supermarkets have begun to restrict purchases.
Purchase restriction notice posted by local supermarket Picture source: Xinhuanet
Tracing the history and economic context of Singapore, in fact, it is not difficult to understand the local people’s concerns about the shortage of supplies.
High openness is the cornerstone of Singapore ’s rapid economic growth, and it is also the reason why the country is dependent on imports.
On Singapore’s 700 square kilometers of land, only 1% is used for agriculture and production. Therefore, most foods, including fresh vegetables and fruits, pork, chicken, eggs, and aquatic products, are listed on the Singapore import list.
“Singapore’s food self-sufficiency rate is less than 10%. In other words, more than 90% of food is imported.” Paul Teng, a food security expert at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, wrote in a report published in 2019.
As one of the main sources of imports, the ties between Malaysia and Singapore are crucial.
The World Bank released a set of data in 2018: Malaysia is Singapore’s second largest food importer, with total imports exceeding 900 million U.S. dollars, accounting for a 12.61% share. In 2018, 73% of eggs, 67% of leafy vegetables, 39% of fruits and 50% of water resources in Singapore came from Malaysia.
“Malaysia and Singapore still maintain close ties in geography and history. Malaysia’s blockade could have serious ripple effects on Singapore’s economy.” Bank of Malaya (Maybank) Cai Hak Bin, senior economist in Singapore, said (Chua Hak Bin) .
02 Cold Lips
Singapore experienced the consequences of a confiscation by neighbouring countries as early as 2004.
At that time, an outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza occurred at a poultry farm in Kelantan, Malaysia, and all poultry products from Malaysia were cut off, causing the domestic egg import price in Singapore to soar, almost three times the normal price at that time.
Singapore and Malaysia in the 1960sAfter a short period of merger, the two countries have been linked by geographical ties, history, and culture.
Across the Strait of Johor, which is about 1 ~ 5 kilometers wide, a 1,056-meter long Johor embankment connects Johor Bahru City, Malaysia and Woodlands, Singapore. It is both a road and rail corridor, and it also carries the water supply pipeline from Malaysia to Singapore.
Situation map of Singapore and Malaysia Image source: Ministry of Natural Resources website
For a long time, The two neighboring countries have maintained very unique and close economic ties, and have very close exchanges in trade in goods and services, foreign direct investment and population mobility.
From 2009 to 2017, Singapore and Malaysia were each other’s second largest trading partners. In addition to food, fresh water, oil, integrated circuits, semiconductor equipment, etc. also constituted an important part of the “panoramic picture” of the main import and export goods of both sides. .
Singapore’s demographic composition also shows that the dependency relationship between the two countries is more than that.
In 2019, nearly 1 million migrants working and settling in Singapore came from Malaysia, accounting for 44% of Singapore’s migrant population and 17% of the total population.
Every day, about 400,000 people who live in Malaysia cross Singapore’s Johor Causeway to work in Singapore. This huge group of people occupies 1/10 of Singapore’s workforce, mainly in the construction, manufacturing and service industries.
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New Rouge Causeway before and after the entry into force of the Malaysian Border Restriction Image Source: Screenshot of the Web
Before the announcement of “sealing off” in Singapore, the special working committees of the two countries also agreed that during the epidemic, Malaysians with work permits can return to Singapore to continue their work on the premise that their accommodation is guaranteed.
03 get ready
After the “purchase boom”, the government’s appeasement followed.
Singaporean officials emphasize that there is no restriction on the transportation of goods between Singapore and Malaysia. At the same time, the government has broadened its supply sources, and there will be no “cutouts” in the short term.
“Singapore carbohydrate stocks, such as rice and noodles, are sufficient for more than three months, and protein foods such as meat and vegetables are sufficient for more than two months. As for eggs, in addition to local production in Singapore, we are starting Airfreight import plans in case of supply disruption in Malaysia. “The Singapore Food Authority (SFA) wrote in a statement to Uncle Cheng.
In April 2019, after the Singapore Food, Agriculture, and Veterinary Authority (AVA) , which is responsible for the flexible supply of food supplies, the newly established SFA began. Take over food-related responsibilities.
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SFA’s official website screenshot
“For many years, SingaporeIt has been prepared to prevent the disruption of Malaysia’s supply. By increasing domestic productivity and expanding its reserve channels, it has ensured that there is no risk of food and basic supplies running out. “
The statement further stated, “Even if there are some problems in Malaysia’s supply, we can still import from third-party countries.”
Import diversification is one of the strategies proposed by the SFA.
As of now, Singapore ’s food importing countries have increased from 140 in 2014 to more than 170, such as Malaysia, China, the United States, Brazil, New Zealand, etc. The main imported foods include vegetables, eggs, rice and various meats. .
“Once food production, processing and transportation in other countries are affected by a universal factor, Singapore will also be greatly affected.” Paul Teng told Uncle Cheng, “To reduce this risk and ensure flexible supply, Singapore from time (geographic location) and space (North and South Hemisphere) Come up and decide where to import each food. “
04 Responding to Impact
In addition, SFA also revealed that Singapore, by promoting the development of high-tech indigenous agriculture, vowed to increase its own food self-sufficiency rate from the current 10% to 30% by 2030. By assisting local companies to expand overseas markets, they can return agricultural products grown abroad to supply Singapore’s food at lower prices.
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Local people are shopping in the supermarket Picture source: Xinhuanet
In fact, as early as the Lee Kuan Yew era, Singapore raised the need to increase the self-sufficiency rate of its own supplies of freshwater and other materials in order to ensure that the material bombSexual supply, at any time to respond to the emergency of the supply chain interruption.
Taking fresh water as an example, in order to get rid of the long-term dependence on Malaysia’s water resources, the Singapore Prime Minister’s Office set up a water planning team in 1971 to specifically guide the work of the water sector. At present, Singapore’s fresh water produced using wastewater (NEWater) has been able to meet 40% of the water.
“Singapore’s current challenge is that if 80% of a food product needs to be imported, and the importing country has also cut back on exports, the implementation of the SFA’s” flexibility “strategy can mitigate some risks.” Paul Teng said.
“How to increase domestic food production, especially novel, perishable or hard-to-save food, is another problem facing Singapore.” He said, “One solution is to adopt traditional farming techniques in a vertical way. (such as leafy greens and beans) . “
The Global Food Safety Index Report 2019 released by the think tank under the magazine The Economist also warns of problems facing Singapore.
According to the report, considering factors such as food price affordability, food quality and safety, and flexible food supply, Singapore has topped the list for the second consecutive year. However, if climate, natural resources and other factors are considered, its ranking will slip to 12th place.
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Picture source: “Global Food Safety Index Report 2019”
How to mitigate external shocks due to high dependence on imports is bound to be the next step for Singapore.
This article comesSince public micro-channel number: city evolution (ID: urban_evolution) , author: Wen Qiao