AVA officers inspecting the pig farming area and abattoir in Sarawak to ensure their bio-security control measures and hygiene standards meet our requirements.
In 2014, Singaporeans consumed about 54,000 tonnes of frozen pork. About 65 percent of this quantity came from Brazil, the Netherlands, and United States.
AVA recently approved Sarawak (East Malaysia) and Austria to export frozen pork to Singapore. Diversification of sources is a core strategy in ensuring food supply resilience. AVA constantly seeks out different countries and establishments to bring in food from. These countries are assessed for their capabilities in meeting AVA’s food safety and animal health standards. Only countries and their establishments that meet our requirements are allowed to export meat to Singapore.
The pig farming area in Sarawak has met all of AVA's requirements.
Safe Pork from Sarawak (East Malaysia)
In 1999, AVA suspended the import of live pigs and raw pork from Malaysia due to an outbreak of Nipah virus. Nipah virus infection causes severe disease in both animals and humans. Since then, only heat-processed pork products from Malaysia are allowed into Singapore.
In 2010, Sarawak, East Malaysia was assessed to be a possible new source of pork for us. AVA conducted a thorough evaluation, as well as an assessment of the state’s animal and veterinary public health programmes. In addition, inspections were conducted at the pig farming area and abattoir in Sarawak to ensure their bio-security control measures and hygiene standards meet our requirements. During the inspections, AVA officers pointed out areas for improvement that the abattoir subsequently rectified.
AVA granted approval for the abattoir to export frozen pork to Singapore in late 2014. The first commercial consignment totalling 11.8 tonnes of frozen pork arrived in Singapore in February 2015. Sarawak may well become a significant source of frozen pork due to its proximity to Singapore.
More sources of safe pork means greater resilience in our meat supply.
Healthy Demand for Pork from Austria
In addition to Sarawak, AVA approved two pig slaughterhouses in Austria in early 2014 to export frozen pork to Singapore. Over 150 tonnes of Austrian frozen pork have arrived in Singapore since July 2014.