Shanghai port lockdowns not expected to hit Singapore’s supply of essential items: Low Yen Ling

SHANGHAI’S Covid-19 port lockdowns are not expected to significantly impact Singapore’s supplies of essential food and healthcare items, while manufacturers here are also coping with delayed supplies so far, said Minister of State for Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling in Parliament on Monday (May 9).

Singapore’s reliance on China for essential supplies is “relatively low” and the Chinese cities from which Singapore imports most of its food supplies are not currently classified as high-risk ones, said Low.

The government will continue to adopt a “multi-pronged approach” of import diversification, local production and stock piling to minimise supply shocks, she added.

Low was responding to a question from Workers’ Party Member of Parliament (MP) He Ting Ru on the impact of China’s lockdowns on supply chains and rising prices in Singapore.

Low noted that cargo is still able to leave from the Shanghai port, and where necessary, is also being re-directed to other ports in China or other transport modes such as air.

The degree to which industries will feel the impact of supply chain disruptions will vary based on their dependence on imported supplies from China and their contingency planning, she added.

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Singapore’s key imports from China are electronics, machinery and metals from China – primarily intermediate goods needed by companies in the manufacturing and construction. “Based on feedback from companies in these sectors, we understand that most of them have been able to cope with the delays in shipments from China thus far,” said Low.

But the ongoing movement curbs have further strained supply chains – already under stress due to Russia’s war in Ukraine – and may thus exacerbate global inflationary pressures in the near-term, she noted. “How this plays out over the longer term will depend on the scale and extent of the lockdowns and their impact on China’s economy”.

She reiterated that the government has extended help to businesses and lower-income households – helping the former with cashflow needs and the latter through ComCare – and will continue to monitor the situation closely.