The coronavirus outbreak is showing no signs of abating, and all over the world, authorities have been forced to resort to draconian measures to clamp down on the spread.

I’m talking about ‘lockdowns’ in Italy, circuit breaker measures in Singapore and  movement control order (MCO) in Malaysia.

One thing’s for sure though, everyone’s being told to stay home and if the majority stays home, has anyone wondered who’s going to produce the food?

Minister: S’pore Must Be Prepared for Supply Disruptions & Other Countries Are on Lockdown

All the panic buyers’ and hoarders’ worst nightmares have come true.

Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said that Singapore needs to plan and be prepared for disruptions in its supply of food and other essentials as exporting countries continue to undergo lockdowns.

He spoke in Parliament yesterday (6 April 2020) and pointed out that the coronavirus has “severely diminished global production capacities and disrupted global supply chains” as countries worldwide restrict movement as well as close factories and other businesses.

Restrictions for air travel have also significantly diminished global air cargo capacity and connectivity, while seaport capacities are increasingly being put under stress, according to Mr Chan.

Singapore Has Multi-Pronged Strategy To Combat Disruption 

Before you bring your entire household and extended relatives to the nearest supermarket to get past the purchase restrictions, Mr Chan says that we have a plan.

More specifically, he assures Singaporeans that the country has a multi-pronged strategy to overcome the “unprecedented disruption” to global supply chains.

This includes ensuring enough food supply through stockpiling, import diversification and local production.

“The size of our stockpile is determined by a range of factors such as our consumption rate, the supply chain reliability, resupply rate and frequency, shelf life of the products and the cost of storage, the duration of possible disruptions and our local production surge capacities,” said Mr Chan.

Maintaining the country’s stockpile of different items is a “dynamic task that requires constant watch over the fluid global supply landscape.”

We have a business analyst, IT analyst and now we also need a fruit and vegetable analyst.

Person A: How did you contribute to the fight against the coronavirus dad??

Person B: I was a vegetable analyst, son.

Mr Chan also mentions that they have to be mindful that other countries might want to keep their supplies for themselves.

“Beyond the factors mentioned, we must also watch the rising protectionist measures by countries to secure their own supplies which compound the global supply chain disruptions,” he said.

Lest you didn’t know, we bring in our food supplies from many sources. You can watch this video to understand more:

(Check out our YouTube channel for more informative and entertaining videos!)

Panic Buying Will Affect Singapore’s Consumption Rate

Here’s a gentle reminder that panic buying upon hearing this news will negatively impact all of us including yourself.

This is because it would “distort Singapore’s consumption rates and planning assumptions.”

That said, previous assurances to work with other countries to ensure continued supplies may be disrupted depending on how the coronavirus outbreak evolves.

“For instance, while the Government has worked with Malaysia to ensure that goods, especially food and essentials, continue to flow between our countries following the implementation of Malaysia’s Movement Control Order, we cannot be certain how long this will last as the global COVID-19 outbreak continues to escalate.”

At the end of the day, Singapore must plan, be prepared and be ready for further disruptions.

Singapore is now working with “like-minded partners” to ensure continued flow of goods.

For instance, we’ve recently entered into an agreement with countries like Australia, Brunei and Canada to ensure supply chain connectivity.

Singapore’s trading lines with other countries such as China and South Korea remained open.

Hang on everyone, together we’ll get through this.