SINGAPORE (June 8): Singapore and France are looking to maintain their open and connected supply chains for essential food supplies.
This is in spite of the disruptions global supply chains are facing from the Covid-19 health-turned-economic pandemic, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) detailed on Monday.
Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing calls Singapore and France “strategic partners”. “Our economic relations are growing stronger, enhanced by the entry-into-force of the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA) in November last year,” he noted.
Under this arrangement, both Singapore and France will ensure that their transport and logistics links remain open to facilitate the flow of essential food and agricultural products.
Both countries will work with service providers in air and sea freight and facilitate business partnerships and collaborations between Singapore and French food companies, importers and distributors.
Chan believes the move will strengthen the partnership between both countries. Beyond enhancing bilateral trade in agri-food products, he believes it creates opportunities for food safety standards and for French agri-food exporters to use Singapore as a base to reach out to ASEAN.
“It also demonstrates our intent to maintain open and connected supply chains and facilitate the smooth flow of essential supplies critical to the well-being our people and businesses,” he reiterated.
The Singapore-France statement comes days after the republic received its first shipment of hen shell eggs from Poland on Friday (June 5).
This marks the first time Singapore is importing eggs from Poland and comes from a May 29 agreement “to affirm their commitment to strengthen economic cooperation”.
“This is also part of Singapore’s efforts to diversify our food supply sources to ensure our food supply remains resilient,” MTI stressed on June 5.
