On the morning of June 6, 2025, at the headquarters of the Vietnamese Embassy in Singapore, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam to Singapore – Mr. Tran Phuoc Anh and the Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore had a working session with the delegation of the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) led by Mr. Damian Chan – CEO, to discuss promoting cooperation between the two countries related to the food and foodstuff sector – emphasizing the promotion of Vietnamese rice products to Singapore.
Mr. Damian Chan said that currently 90% of Singapore’s food is imported from abroad, so ensuring food security is one of the country’s top priorities. Diversifying food supplies from partner countries is one of the main methods that Singapore is currently pursuing. Vietnam is one of the main suppliers for many food and foodstuff products of Singapore. Singaporeans are very familiar with imported food products from Vietnam such as rice, seafood, coffee, fruits, processed foods, etc., which are being distributed at large supermarket chains and small and medium-sized retail agents.
Singapore also wishes to expand the types of food products from Vietnam. On March 11, 2025, SFA issued an official document approving the opening of the import market for a number of Vietnamese products, including: heat-processed poultry meat; and poultry eggs and meat (excluding beef) canned/sterilized at high temperature and high pressure (according to the list of recommendations of Vietnamese authorities). Mr. Damian Chan said that SFA is ready to promote more strongly and cooperate more deeply with other types of food from Vietnam.
Regarding rice, the most popular food in Singapore, Mr. Chan also stated that Vietnam has always been one of the three largest rice suppliers to Singapore. He also expressed his hope that in the coming time, Vietnamese rice will continue to ensure quantity and quality for the Singapore market. Mr. Chan also expressed SFA’s gratitude to the Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore for directly supporting business delegations from Singapore to Vietnam in recent years to promote trade, focusing on food and foodstuffs.
Ambassador Tran Phuoc Anh (right); Mr. Damian Chan, CEO of SFA (left)
Responding to the SFA representative, Ambassador Tran Phuoc Anh thanked the SFA for its close cooperation, coordination and support for Vietnamese food products. He affirmed that Vietnamese products, including food, are increasingly meeting the higher requirements of many demanding markets such as the US, EU, etc. in terms of quality and price competitiveness. The Ambassador was pleased to thank the efforts of both sides in promoting market opening for Vietnamese poultry meat and eggs in Singapore and hoped that Singapore would continue to consider opening other meat groups and many other Vietnamese products.
Discussing future cooperation with SFA, Ambassador Tran Phuoc Anh said that Vietnam has diverse food products suitable for the Singapore market, while Singapore is a regional and world trade transit center, and Singapore has financial potential, technology and a team of experts. The Ambassador suggested that SFA continue to send delegations to Vietnam to study and evaluate products as well as work with relevant agencies to propose more in-depth cooperation mechanisms and create conditions for more Vietnamese products to enter the Singapore market. The Vietnamese Embassy in Singapore will closely coordinate and support trade promotion activities, promote market expansion for Vietnamese food products in Singapore and other cooperation activities between the two sides. The Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore will continue to be the focal point to support these cooperation activities.
Sharing more about rice, Mr. Cao Xuan Thang, Trade Counselor, Head of the Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore, also emphasized that Vietnam’s rice export turnover to Singapore has grown steadily in recent years. According to statistics from the Singapore Enterprise Management Authority, Vietnam is currently the third largest rice supplier to Singapore, after India and Thailand. Notably, in the first 6 months of 2024, Vietnam was once the largest rice exporter to the Singapore market. This shows that the supply potential and quality of Vietnamese rice meet the needs and strict standards of Singapore. Mr. Thang commented that in the coming time, in the context of the world facing many fluctuations affecting the economy, global food security could be an opportunity for Vietnamese enterprises to promote exports. Vietnamese enterprises need to focus on product promotion activities, improve quality and design, as well as take advantage of Singapore’s transit role to export to other countries, through many forms such as: participating in major international specialized fairs, increasing the presence of Vietnamese goods, participating in conferences and trade connection seminars organized by prestigious units such as SFA, the Embassy, the Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore…
The SFA agreed to continue to strengthen coordination with the Embassy, the Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore and related units to support businesses of both sides to promote and create more favorable conditions for trade in food and foodstuffs between the two countries.
Source: Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore