Review of Rice Stockpile Scheme Given Extreme Weather Changes

Mr Chen Show Mao asked the Minister for National Development whether the Rice Stockpile Scheme and other measures under Singapore's Food Security Roadmap are robust enough to withstand climatic events, such as the 2015-2016 El Niño and associated drought and heatwave, that have affected crop outputs in Thailand, Vietnam, India and elsewhere in Southeast and South Asia.

Under the Food Security Roadmap, import source diversification is a core strategy to strengthen our food supply resilience. By importing from various sources both far and near, we can minimise the impact of climatic events in any source location on Singapore's overall food supply. For instance, despite unfavourable weather conditions in Malaysia earlier this year, import quantities and prices of leafy vegetables have been relatively stable as traders were able to switch to other sources, such as China.

Local production of key food items, such as eggs, leafy vegetables and fish, complements our source diversification strategy. The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) supports our farmers in their efforts to expand their food production capabilities, for example, through the implementation of controlled-environment farming systems, such as indoor farming, that can protect our local production from adverse environment conditions. By raising farming productivity and ramping up local production in cost-effective ways, we can become more self-reliant in selected food items over time.

Finally, besides diversification and local production, stockpiling can enhance food security in times of short-term shortages. The Government maintains a strategic rice stockpile, where importers are required to stockpile a certain proportion of commonly consumed rice varieties, such as White Rice. This buffers against supply disruptions.