September 12, 2022

 

Irish beef and lamb to be sold at supermarket shelves in Singapore

 

 

Beef and lamb from Ireland are expected to hit supermarket shelves and homes in Singapore following the success of Irish ducks sold at many restaurants in the city-state, The Straits Times reported.

 

Irish beef and lamb were introduced this week for the first time in the retail sector here at upscale meat butcher Ryan's Grocery in Bukit Timah, though they have already been made available at top restaurants and via e-commerce platforms RedMart and foodpanda.

 

The drive to get these products on store shelves in this country stems from a trade mission to South-east Asia and Japan led by Charlie McConalogue, Ireland's Minister for Agriculture, Food, and Marine.

 

McConalogue said that Ireland could potentially be an even stronger partner for Singapore as it looks to continue diversifying its food sources.

 

Ireland's Food Board, or Bord Bia, unveiled an ambitious new three-year plan with the goal of increasing Irish food and drink exports to Southeast Asia to EUR 800 million(~US$814 million; EUR 1 = US$1.02) by 2025, with the dairy and meat industries leading the way.

 

Exports totaled EUR 535 million (~US$544 million) last year, up 25% from the previous year. Dairy products and ingredients (EUR 314 million; ~US$319 million), beef (EUR 76 million; ~US$77 million), and pork (EUR 76 million; ~US$77 million) accounted for the majority of these exports.

 

McConalogue said Ireland’s five million population is comparable to Singapore's. But Ireland has a very productive agricultural sector, and they produce enough food for about 30 million people.

 

As a result, he said, they see a real opportunity to build our relationships in the region working with their partners already in Singapore, with an understanding of the priority of Singaporean national policy.

 

More than 90% of Singapore's food is imported, and diversification is a key strategy for ensuring its food security.

 

Additionally, he said that Singaporean shoppers and retailers will respond particularly favourably to Ireland's national sustainability programme, Origin Green.

 

Ireland is a country that produces food from farms and from grass, so it is less dependent on varying grain and feed prices brought on by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

 

-      The Straits Times