Good morning

Mr Seah Kian Peng, Managing Director for Group Business, NTUC FairPrice

Mr Sunny Koh, Chairman of F&B Industry Group, Singapore Manufacturers’ Federation

Mr Tng Ah Yiam, Director of Integrated Purchasing, NTUC FairPrice

Mr Tan Soon Kim, Deputy Director of Business Services & Lifestyle Division, IE Singapore

Valued members of SMa

Ladies and Gentlemen

A warm welcome to all of you.

Introduction

Tasty Singapore was first launched in 2004 to provide a common branding platform for the Singapore food industry to generate awareness and business opportunities amongst foreign buyers and consumers at overseas markets.

In conjunction with this year’s National Day celebrations, Singapore Manufacturers’ Federation (SMa), together with Singapore’s largest home-grown retailer, NTUC FairPrice (FairPrice), is pleased to launch the Tasty Singapore promotion right here at our very own supermarket chain. The Tasty Singapore initiative is also supported by International Enterprise (IE) Singapore.

Singapore Food Industry

For the past decade, Singapore food manufacturing sector has been performing well. Even during trying times in 1986, the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997 and SARS outbreak in 2003, it remained resilient amid the harsh economic conditions and maintained steady growth. In fact, from 2003 to 2007, the total food manufacturing output was increased by 43 per cent from S$4 billion to S$5.7 billion. No doubt, the current unprecedented economic slowdown and H1N1 outbreak did affect some food manufacturers. Nonetheless, the impact on the food manufacturing industry is not significant. Most food manufacturers have recorded steady growth, and are continuing with their efforts to upgrade capabilities and explore overseas markets.

Local Tasty Singapore promotion as a launch-pad for overseas ventures

Through our collaboration with key industry partners and government agencies, SMa continues to champion our food manufacturers’ competitiveness and achieve sustainable growth for our local food industry.

Presently, we have almost 740 food manufacturing establishments in Singapore, employing over 21,700 workers. More than 95% of these manufacturers are small and medium enterprises. Last year, our food exports grew by over 15 per cent to reach S$8 billion. Our export destinations include Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, the US and Vietnam.

Over the years, Singapore food manufactures have embodied a distinctive personality synonymous with quality, reliability, consistency and creativity. However, to reinforce on our promotion of homegrown brands, we took the initiative to partner with FairPrice to launch the Tasty Singapore platform at its extensive network of supermarket stores to showcase our local Tasty Singapore brand ambassadors. Not only is this promotion a timely opportunity to stimulate consumer demand for home-grown brands in the local markets during the economic downturn. The partnership is also an excellent platform to sharpen our food manufacturers’ capabilities and marketability, especially when they forge synergistic collaboration to venture into overseas markets under the Tasty Singapore branding during the economy recovery.

In pursuant to helping our local manufacturers improve on their competitiveness, SMa recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Restaurant Association of Singapore to create enhanced taste and appearance in food manufacturing as well as to innovate new products. This will greatly aid our local manufacturers’ plans to venture into new and emerging markets with a distinctive product differentiation and enhanced mind-share, even though there is stiff competition from overseas players.

Conclusion

Lastly, I would like to thank NTUC FairPrice for partnering SMa to launch this extensive platform to showcase our food manufacturers’ products to the local consumers. Also, I would like thank IE Singapore for their continued efforts to support Singapore brands and to provide assistance to market our products to overseas markets.

In addition, I would like to strongly encourage more local manufacturers to join this programme as Tasty Singapore Brand Ambassadors. Together, we can make a difference to the local food manufacturing industry, and bring our home-grown products to greater heights, both in local and global markets.

Thank you.