Pasar Indonesia adds to FairPrice’s diversified sources of vegetable supply

NTUC FairPrice (FairPrice) launched Pasar Indonesia, its new housebrand range of leafy vegetables imported from Medan, Indonesia today. Customers can look forward to this sweeter and juicier range of vegetables which are a result of fertile volcanic soil and cool climate of the highlands in Medan. Pasar Indonesia boasts of five popular varieties of leafy vegetables – kalian, chye sim, xiao bai cai, endive and bai cai – and is available at major FairPrice supermarkets, FairPrice Finest and FairPrice Xtra stores located islandwide. Competitively priced compared with other national brands, FairPrice plans to double the Pasar Indonesia range in the next few years.

The launch was held at FairPrice Kang Kar Mall in conjunction with the opening of Indonesia Istimewa Fair. The event was graced by Ambassador Wardana of the Republic of Indonesia for Singapore. During the launch, FairPrice and supplier PT Horti Jaya signed an agreement to supply and pack vegetables exclusively for the new Pasar Indonesia brand.

Mr Tng Ah Yiam, Managing Director (Group Purchasing, Merchandising and International Trading), NTUC FairPrice said, “Having worked with Horti Jaya since 2007, we are impressed with the quality of their produce, safety standards and supply reliability. We started importing just two types of vegetables. As we developed a closer working relationship and customer demand for the products increased, we started importing more varieties. Having built trust and confidence with each other, we decided to take our partnership one step further by packing the vegetables from Horti Jaya farms in Medan under our new Pasar Indonesia brand.”

Commenting on the partnership, Mr Sunario Chan, President Director, PT Horti Jaya, said, “We thank NTUC FairPrice for giving Horti Jaya the opportunity to supply and pack vegetables for their housebrand, Pasar Indonesia. It is an important milestone for us. We look forward to a good and long term relationship with NTUC FairPrice.”

FairPrice currently carries various Pasar labels which are sourced from various suppliers including Pasar Local Farms, Pasar Malaysia, Pasar Thailand and Pasar Organic. Pasar Indonesia vegetables adds to FairPrice’s diversified sources of vegetables for its Pasar label which helps to moderate price stability and supply reliability.

FairPrice introduced its own housebrand range of fresh produce under the Pasar label in 1997. This served to encourage competitive pricing among manufacturers and retailers and to help moderate the cost of living so as to keep the price of food products fair and reasonable. Over the years, the Pasar range has grown to some 500 items including fruits, vegetables, eggs, and meat.

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Indonesia Istimewa Fair

The annual Indonesia Istimewa Fair is in its third year and will be held at all NTUC FairPrice stores from 2 September to 15 September 2010. It will feature fresh produce like rock melon, pink guava and Pasar Indonesia vegetables. Apart from these, more than 20 grocery items from Indonesia will also be featured including condiments, canned fruits, chocolate and instant noodles.

Mr Tng added, “FairPrice brings the world to our customers in Singapore, and Indonesia is one key country that we work with for a wide range of products. We are constantly looking for ways to establish closer working relations with growers and suppliers from around the world. This enables us to bring a greater range of diverse products at competitive prices to our customers.”

FairPrice holds a wide range of country fairs throughout the year. Earlier this year, FairPrice held country fairs from India, Thailand and Taiwan to promote and create greater awareness for the products from these countries.