AN INTER-AGENCY committee will soon be set up to ensure Singapore's food supply stays stable.

To be jointly led by the Ministry of National Development and Ministry of Trade and Industry, it will consider the medium to long-term strategies in ensuring resilient food supply.

Announcing this on Friday at the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority's (AVA) Food Safety Awards Night, National National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said: 'This Committee will study the changes and trends in global food supply, and examine policies on enhancing Singapore's food supply with a view to manage supply and price shocks, in consultation with our industry players.'

Mr Mah said this year has been a particularly challenging period for the food industry, as prices of some of the key food items here have risen significantly, seriously affecting many Singaporeans

'The general food price inflation we are experiencing is a worldwide phenomenon, the result of imbalance in supply and demand, as well as rising fuel costs. Given our heavy dependence on food imports, we are unfortunately affected by such global food price increases,' he said.

To help mitigate the impact of escalating food prices, he said AVA's strategy is to encourage and allow as many, and as widespread as possible, the number of supply sources so that Singapore can import food at competitive prices from many different sources of supply.

For example, AVA has so far allowed more than 10,000 establishments in 29 countries to export meat to Singapore. In the first half of this year alone, 158 establishments in 19 countries were accredited by AVA.

Mr Mah said AVA is also helping importers cast their nets wider to non-traditional sources. For example, frozen Namibian fish is now available at NTUC FairPrice outlets.

New sources closer to home, such as in the Philippines and Vietnam, are also being explored for meat, seafood and vegetables.

He also urged the industry to play a a crucial role in ensuring a stable supply of food at competitive prices, and noted that importers have collaborated with AVA in exploring new supply sources.

Importers should also explore the feasibility of setting up their own food supply zones by investing in high yield food production in regional countries, and develop robust Business Continuity Plans to counter any supply disruptions.

Mr Mah said companies that held buffer stocks in their cold stores during the avian flu outbreaks in Malaysia in 2004, for example, were able to continue doing business and that helped to mitigate the supply disruption while the importers quickly activated links to raise the imports of frozen poultry.