Food Security in Singapore: What to Know Before Starting Your Next Panic Buying Spree

I’m so fortunate to be living in a comfortable city like Singapore

Too lucky that we do not realise how good we actually have it compared to other countries.

An excellent example will be when we all went on our panic buying sprees when COVID-19 was at its worst.

I remember when all the NTUCs had their shelves cleaned out, long queues taking up the whole sidewalk, and everyone snatching up all the necessities such as noodles and toilet paper.

A few things are on everyone’s minds currently:

New COVID-19 variant and rising cases daily, increasing costs of living in Singapore, and the upcoming GST increase.

Luckily, we have the COVID-19 situation under control. I’d hate to see another panic buying wave might start again.

Singapore has enough food supply to go around even in the worst times, and we have ways to ensure we won’t run out. Everybody just relax larh.

Now here’s something to think about:

Did you know that food security in Singapore actually affects inflation? Let’s explore more in this article!

TL;DR: Don’t Panic Buy, Singapore Has a Safe Food Supply

How Is Food Security And Inflation Related?

Food Security is affected by three factors: Availability, Stability, and Accessibility of food supplies.

Putting it simply, ensuring that the food supply sources can consistently provide us with enough food will be the primary concern of food security.

So how does this affect inflation?

When COVID-19 was at its worst in 2020, food supplies were threatened when countries went on lockdown and when international shipping lines hit snags.

Food security has become an issue in multiple countries, even till now, countries such as Malaysia and Japan have problems with potato shortages due to these supply disruptions.

These shortages in supply will result in rising prices to lower the demand for them.

How Is Panic Buying Even a Part of This?

Did you know that by panic buying, we are actually contributing to the rising costs of living?

What happens is that when we panic buy, we are increasing the demand for necessities such as food and toilet paper.

Along with the food supply distribution lines facing disruptions, the prices for goods such as these will be increased to help suppliers cope with the demand.

And this doesn’t just involve panic buying due to COVID-19!

When we first caught wind of the upcoming increase in GST, consumers were inclined to buy more before the tax hike struck, which is a form of panic buying.

So if you’re guilty of buying like this, don’t complain about inflation!

Measures Singapore Are Taking To Avoid Food Insecurity

Singapore has put in place multiple different measures to reduce the risk of food insecurity.

Hence, we shouldn’t be afraid of food shortages in the near future.

So don’t go and start a panic buying spree whenever there’s a news update. All you will do is worsen inflation and contribute to more wastage.

Let’s take a look at some of these measures:

1. Diversified Sourcing From Multiple Places

Singapore leverages on our relationships with a lot of different countries.

As a result of these relationships, we have food supplies imported from over 170 different countries!

By diversifying our different sources for food supplies, we can ensure enough to go around even when a country we work with is having difficulties in food supply themselves.

2. Supporting Local Agricultural Production

Relying solely on imports from other countries might not be sufficient.

Hence, we are looking towards local farming and food production efforts.

Furthermore, Singapore aims to grow 30% of our food supply by 2030 under our “30 by 30” plan.

So remember to #supportlocal when you see a local brand for your groceries!

3. Expanding R&D Efforts and Incorporating Technology

As an additional effort to bolster our “30 by 30” plan to produce our own food, Singapore has been encouraging technology adoption by our local farms.

While new methods to ensure safety and sustainability in our food production are constantly being researched.

Furthermore, large sums of money have been invested in food-related research programmes as well as grants for sustainable food production.

4. Farming In Unconventional Areas to Maximise Space

We all know how small Singapore is. (No wonder buy house so expensive larh)

Producing our own food supply will be a challenge with our limited land space.

One of the ways around it will be farming in places people typically won’t expect farms to be at.

An example will be rooftop farms located at the rooftops of multi-storey carparks!

Time To Play Your Part as a Consumer To Slow Down Insurance

There’s nothing we can do about COVID-19 or the GST increase.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t do anything about inflation and the rising costs of living.

As consumers, we have a big part to play in slowing down inflation!

When we buy responsibly within our needs, we can reduce wastage while also preventing the demand for goods from skyrocketing out of control.

By prioritising the environment and the economy, we will benefit from it the most.

After all, we are hit the worst when costs of living start to rise more and when environmental damage threatens the place we live in!

What are your thoughts?

Feel free to pop a discussion in Seedly’s Community. You can share your opinions and discuss with like-minded people or even learn some handy new advice!