Indonesia looking at setting up farm in Batam to export fresh chickens to Singapore

A NEW farm to supply fresh chicken to Singapore could be up and running in Batam if there is a healthy demand for frozen chicken from Indonesia.

The Indonesian Ambassador to Singapore Suryo Pratomo gave this update on Thursday (Jul 21) morning at the Leong Hup Distribution facility on Fishery Port Road where the first shipment of frozen chicken from Indonesia arrived last Sunday.

Suryo added that he expects a total of 1,000 tonnes to arrive in Singapore by year-end.

Referring to the first batch, Suryo said: “This is a consignment that has come from Jakarta, and we must see the (size of) demand from Singapore. I have talked with some producers in Indonesia, and they plan to also set up the farm in Batam.”

He added that Indonesian companies hope to have an understanding of the demand by next year so that they can determine the size of the farm in Batam.

“If we can set up the farm in Batam, it will not take a long time to bring live chickens to Singapore.”

The director-general for animal husbandry and health at Indonesia’s Agriculture Ministry, Dr Nasrullah, said last month that a team from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) had been in Indonesia on Jun 14 to assess some farms, slaughterhouses, processing facilities and other relevant aspects.

Prior to this, Indonesia had only exported salted eggs, totalling around 50,000 each month.

It is understood that the first batch of frozen chicken has already been sold out, with chicken rice stalls forming the bulk of the clients. Subsequent shipments are set to arrive in the weeks ahead.

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Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment and Manpower Koh Poh Koon, who was also at the Leong Hup Distribution facility, said the authorities are monitoring demand for frozen chickens from Indonesia, and will step up imports if demand is positive.

Alfred Leek, the procurement director at Leong Hup Distribution, said that the frozen chicken from Indonesia differs from those that his firm has been bringing in from the United States, Thailand, Brazil and Argentina.

Leek noted the frozen chicken from Indonesia weighs about 2-2.3 kg while those from other countries weigh about 1.5-1.6 kg.

He also added that it takes 30 to 60 days for the meat to arrive from the United States, Brazil and Argentina while it takes just 3 days for it to arrive from Indonesia.

Leek said: “This is the first time that we are bringing chicken with the head and feet intact. So the industry now has a new option. It also gives the consumer another option to choose in case of supply disruption. From the initial ground sentiment that we have gathered so far, we are really confident that the frozen chicken from Indonesia will be well received.”

On Jun 30, the SFA approved Indonesia as a new source of frozen, chilled and processed chicken meat for Singapore, joining a list of more than 20 accredited countries which include Brazil, Thailand and Australia.

This came after Malaysia banned the export of chicken from Jun 1 in a bid to stabilise price and supplies.

According to SFA, 34 per cent of Singapore’s chicken supply comes from Malaysia.

Although Malaysia has since allowed exports of kampung and black chicken, the more common and affordable broiler chicken — which makes up the majority of Singapore’s imports from Malaysia — is still banned.

Professor William Chen, director of Nanyang Technological University’s food science and technology programme, said that diversification of food sources has always been part of Singapore’s national food security strategy, and that the current chicken export ban from Malaysia has helped the Republic to look for new sources more proactively.

Prof Chen said: “In this context, having frozen chicken from Indonesia opens a new supply source as Indonesia has not been a main supplier of chicken to Singapore so far.” THE STRAITS TIMES