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  The Business Times 22 Dec 06
Food supply stable despite M'sian floods
Republic gets its supply from various sources, different transport modes
By Vincent Wee in Singapore and Pauline Ng in Malaysia

AS Malaysians count the cost of flooding which has claimed the lives of at least six people and devastated huge areas of farmland, particularly in Johor, food suppliers in Singapore have been working to ensure that the forthcoming festive season here will be affected as little as possible.

Bukit Gambir in Muar has been worst hit, with water rising by more than a metre. Farms there account for more than 75 per cent of the state's vegetable belt and farmers are hoping to be able to assess the extent of the damage and calculate their losses soon when the rains lessen.

Losses are expected to be considerable, running up to an estimated RM1 million (S$435,000) thus far, according to Tan Bak Looi, president of the Federation of Vegetable Growers Association of Malaysia.

The state's vegetable supplies have been badly affected. Some of the vegetables which have not been destroyed in the fields cannot be transported owing to the heavy rains which have submerged many lower lying farms and made the roads around the farms unpassable, Mr Tan said. 'Supplies are short and prices could double,' he told BT.

Another farmer in the Kota Linggui district who only wanted to be known as Mr Huang said flood waters at his farm could not even be breached by tractor. 'Vegetable supplies will definitely be affected until next month,' he said.

All six of the reported deaths by drowning came in Johor, but Malaysia's worst flooding in decades could now spread to the Klang Valley, the Metrological Department has warned.

But lighter rains and an overall improvement in the six flooded states yesterday saw a substantial number of evacuees returning to their homes.

In Johor, the worst affected state, Bernama said 36 relief centres had been closed. But there were still 64,742 evacuees yesterday morning. Reports of looting in flood-hit areas have added to the woes. More police have been deployed to these areas, with instructions to arrest looters.

Jalan Mersing-Kluang, Jalan Palembang Baru-Kluang and Jalan Kluang-Kota Tinggi have been reopened to traffic, as have all the roads in the Segamat town area.

But as Singaporeans prepare for another festive season, supplies of fruit and vegetables from around the world mean that the republic has been spared from any major disruptions and price increases despite the flooding.

'We haven't seen any changes in fruit and vegetable supply yet because we source from a few of our neighbouring countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam,' a spokesman for the Singapore Pasir Panjang/Beach Road Market Vegetable and Fruits Dealers Association told BT.

Big local consumers like restaurants depend on receiving fresh food daily, so suppliers have built up a network of alternative sources to ensure that their needs are met. The supply market is also quite competitive and importers source from different suppliers from different countries according to specific products to ensure they get the best prices as well.

Singapore's good logistics connections also mean that these products are able to come in regardless of transport problems in certain sectors. 'Because we do have alternative sources, even if roads are flooded, we can get the produce via air and unless it's a major disaster, we get fresh produce from different sources every day,' added the association's spokesman.

Prices are not expected to go up at the retail level either. 'The prices of our vegetables are stable at the moment and FairPrice is committed to keeping prices low for as long as we can,' said an NTUC FairPrice spokesman.

A diversification strategy is behind the co-op's ability to restrain prices. 'Part of the reason why we believe that we can keep prices low is because we work with local farms while diversifying our sources. Apart from Malaysia and Singapore, we also import from Indonesia, China and Thailand,' the spokesman said.

Malaysia has traditionally been one of the biggest suppliers of meat and vegetables to Singapore. Other major food suppliers are Indonesia, Thailand and Australia.

In Johor, breeders of livestock said they have been relatively little affected, mainly because most are situated on higher ground. 'Until now, livestock prices have not changed much, but I think there could be a slight increase as there would be less fish in the market and more consumers would turn to chicken and eggs,' said Johor Poultry & Farmers Association deputy president Liu Shing Hui. About 30 per cent of Johor-bred chickens are exported to Singapore, he said, adding that there have been big problems with traffic and transportation.

National railway KTM corporate communications executive Mohd Fazil Ismail said scheduled services to Johor and Singapore would remain cancelled, although the company hopes to restore services tomorrow, after consulting the Metrological Department and carrying out safety checks on the tracks.
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