Singapore aims to be Asian seafood trade hub

Singaporean firms have built factories in Malaysia and Indonesia but as production ramps up they need overseas markets, according to the head of the Seafood Industries Association of Singapore (SIAS).

Speaking to SeafoodSource, SIAS President Michael Tan, said Singapore is seeking to leverage its geography in the heart of southeast Asia — as well as its long-established trading links with China, India and the West — to trade and process seafood.

Tan credits Singaporean government efforts to encourage automation and good practices in seafood processors while also developing markets for firms. Likewise, he points to a strict, transparent food safety regime as well as a well-established Halal food industry that offers opportunities for exports to the Middle East.

Among the Halal-certified offerings on show at the recent Seafood Expo Asia trade show in Hong Kong: a “Fischeon” canned luncheon-style meat made from sardines and tuna by the Thong Siek firm, which also produces fish balls and breaded fish fingers under the Dodo brand sold regionally.

Also seeking exports is operator of the Ocean Bella brand, Cellmore Pte, which farms grouper and barramundi in Malaysia — the fish is packaged and retailed in steak, filet and tempura forms in the Singaporean market. Another Singaporean firm, Jurong Cold Store Pte, farms 300 hectares of shrimp ponds in west Kalimantan in Indonesia: Jurong claims to harvest 3,000 metric tons (MT) per year of vannemei, black tiger and sea white, as well as cuttlefish.

Singaporean firms are also increasingly looking to China to process and sell seafood. Among these is Hock Lian Huat, which has been promoting its shrimp crackers in the wealthy eastern province of Zhejiang. The firm was set up by an emigrant from China in 1928.

“Indonesia has a market and produce. China has a huge market but little produce because they are increasingly keeping their seafood for domestic consumption rather than exports,” explained Tan.

Singapore imported 200,000 MT of seafood in 2012 and consumption and imports are both on the rise, says Tan. He stresses cooperation between SIAS and the Agri Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) in ensuring western food safety and management standards are enforced at local firms.

Others operating out of Singapore as a hub include Frank Naesheim, the Scandinavian boss of Snorre Food, a long-time supplier of salmon to local caterers and airline catering companies. Naesheim claims Snorre popularized salmon in the region by tutoring Singaporean chefs to use the Norway-sourced fish in the traditional lo hei Chinese New Year dish.

The wealthy Southeast Asian nation, whose economy is heavily reliant on trade, manufacturing and financial services, has lately been grappling with slow growth and comparatively high inflation caused in part by weakness in key export markets. New restrictions on foreign workers meanwhile — in part due to local protests over a ballooning immigrant population — have raised costs and for the city state’s expansion-minded firms.

Nonetheless, Singapore is expected to report 3.5 percent GDP growth in 2013, thanks to a perceived turn-around in the U.S. and EU economies. “Externally-oriented sectors like manufacturing and transportation and storage” would support growth, predicted the Singaporean Ministry of Trade and Industry in a recent statement.