SINGAPORE \u2013 Locally grown vegetables from at least three farms here will soon no longer be available at supermarket giant FairPrice, The Straits Times has learnt.<\/p>\n
The decision, part of FairPrice\u2019s regular product review, highlights the tussle between providing customers with the best value-for-money products and the national effort to support local growers so as to improve food resilience, say industry players.<\/p>\n
The affected urban farms are Artisan Green, SG Veg Farms and Netafarm \u2013 a farm and R&D facility in Neo Tiew that has decided to significantly scale down following the news.<\/p>\n
The farms had been supplying vegetables such as Asian leafy greens and kale since the early 2020s.<\/p>\n
FairPrice Group told ST that it gathers feedback from suppliers and farms and data from stores to better understand evolving consumer demand, identify opportunities to improve its assortment and offer the right vegetable varieties at the best value.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are committed to ensuring a stable supply of quality, affordable fresh produce for customers across our network. Part of these efforts involves continually refining our assortment to provide customers with a more relevant and value-driven selection of produce,\u201d said its spokesperson.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the same time, we remain committed to supporting local production through our longstanding partnerships with local farmers and producers, alongside a range of initiatives to strengthen Singapore\u2019s local food ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are more than 90 vegetable farms in Singapore,<\/span><\/a> according to the Singapore Food Agency\u2019s (SFA) list of land farms, but only a fraction of these farms sell their produce in FairPrice and other supermarkets. Other retail options include online grocers like RedMart, wet markets, buying directly at the farms, online orders and home delivery. Farms also supply to restaurants and hotels.<\/p>\n Local vegetable production rose slightly in 2025 to 16,600 tonnes, up from 16,400 tonnes in 2024.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n When ST visited three FairPrice outlets in VivoCity, Ang Mo Kio Hub and Tiong Bahru Plaza, local produce seen on the shelves came from brands such as Green Harvest, South-east Asia\u2019s largest hydroponic glass greenhouse; Hydrogreens, a brand from the world\u2019s tallest indoor vertical farm, Greenphyto; SG Farmers\u2019 Market; Yili; Sustenir; Sakura, which supplies bean sprouts; and Kin Yan Agrotech, which supplies gourmet mushrooms.<\/p>\n Each outlet had seven to 10 types of local vegetables for sale.<\/p>\n According to its website, FairPrice is the largest retailer in Singapore with around 160 outlets.<\/p>\n Local farms have been grappling with higher electricity, transport and fertiliser costs due to the Iran-US conflict and resulting energy crisis.<\/p>\n An e-mail in late June sent by FairPrice to the affected farms listed the specific products affected by a \u201ccategory assortment refresh\u201d for vegetables, with a target to completely delist those items by Aug 13.<\/p>\n \u201cWe truly appreciate your continued partnership and thank you for your ongoing support throughout this transition,\u201d said the e-mail seen by ST.<\/p>\n On July 2, FairPrice held a meeting with affected farmers and suppliers to address questions and explain its decisions, ST understands.<\/p>\n Following the meeting, Artisan Green\u2019s founder, Ray Poh, is hoping that he can negotiate with FairPrice to continue selling some of its products. The farm has three products on shelves that could be delisted: baby spinach, lettuce medley and Kallang raw kale and spinach mix, which cost $5.40 to $6.90 a pack.<\/p>\n Local vegetable production rose slightly in 2025 to 16,600 tonnes, up from 16,400 tonnes in 2024.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n \u201cThere\u2019s room to discuss and also to set common goals together on what local produce should be on the shelves. If we have plans that can meet their targets to optimise the range, I believe they\u2019ll work with us on it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Artisan Green will refresh its products\u2019 pricing once its 2ha farm opens in late 2026, when the \u201cscale will be much larger and operations more productive\u201d, said Poh. His vertical farm in Kallang is 300 sq m.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen supermarkets help local farms scale up, we become more cost-efficient, and that\u2019s what narrows the price gap over time.\u201d<\/p>\n Artisan\u2019s produce will continue to be sold at Cold Storage, Little Farms, Meidi-ya and Ryan\u2019s Grocery outlets, as well as RedMart. The farm also supplies to hotels and restaurants.<\/p>\n However, for SG Veg Farms and Netafarm, nearly all of their harvests go to FairPrice outlets.<\/p>\n SG Veg Farms\u2019 founder Eyleen Goh, who oversees two rooftop farms in Sembawang, said: \u201cWe now have to urgently find alternative sales channels, and replacing such a large sales volume within a short timeframe is extremely challenging. Without doing so, the farm\u2019s viability would be at serious risk.\u201d<\/p>\n She was informed of the decision in June. \u201cThis comes on top of the many challenges local farms already face, including rising operating costs, higher fuel prices, unpredictable weather and increasing production costs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Goh said the latest development might point to a market demand issue, where local farms not only have to compete with cheaper imports but also among themselves.<\/p>\n She added: \u201cWe understand that retailers have to make commercial decisions. This could happen with any retailer. We hope this situation highlights a broader issue facing Singapore\u2019s local farming ecosystem \u2013 how do we ensure that market demand, shelf space and consumer support grow alongside local production?\u201d<\/p>\n Under the S.Veggies brand, SG Veg Farms\u2019 Asian leafy vegetables retail at $1.65 to $2.98 a pack at 15 to 20 FairPrice outlets.<\/p>\n Local vegetables can cost up to 1\u00bd times more than Malaysian or Chinese imports. While many consumers vote with their wallets, others opt for Singapore-grown greens, saying they are fresher and free of harmful pesticides.<\/p>\n SFA said it is working closely with the industry to enhance demand and sales of local produce.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Agri-food consultant\u00a0Lee Eng Keat advised farms to always have a suite of sales channels, as relying on one grocer or client can be risky.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not easy as some of the farms lack scale and don\u2019t have the volumes nor bargaining power to explore options. But not doing so runs the risk of feast-to-famine that some farms face,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Supermarkets should also give sufficient notice to suppliers regarding their plans to review their products, he pointed out.<\/p>\n Netafarm \u2013 a subsidiary of climate solutions firm Netatech Group \u2013 has had to significantly scale down its farm in Neo Tiew after exiting FairPrice recently.<\/p>\n Once producing 60,000 packs of Asian leafy greens, lettuce and kale every month, it now sells up to 1,000 packs every month directly to long-term customers, said David Tan, Netatech\u2019s group chief executive.<\/p>\n He worries for the eight farmers who have lost their jobs.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand that retailers must make difficult commercial decisions. Shelf space is limited, and businesses have to remain competitive. But I hope there can also be room for compassion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n RedMart said it currently partners 13 local vegetable farms and is in the process of onboarding six more vegetable and mushroom farms.<\/p>\n Cold Storage offers local vegetables from six brands, including bean sprouts from Bean Farm, as well as Hydrogreens and MEOD.<\/p>\n \u201cOur supplier portfolio may evolve over time based on factors such as product quality, availability and customer demand,\u201d said Cold Storage.<\/p>\n FairPrice Group said it has listened carefully to the feedback from suppliers and farms, and is working closely with them to address their concerns where possible.\u00a0\u201cWe will continue to work closely with our local and overseas partners to support a resilient, sustainable supply of fresh produce while meeting the evolving needs of our customers,\u201d said the chain.<\/p>\n SFA told ST on June 30 that it is in contact with the affected farms and will provide the necessary assistance to them, including facilitating access to other retailers and platforms to consolidate demand.<\/p>\n \u201cThe overall impact on the overall local vegetable supply is likely to be limited as the affected farms have existing alternative distribution channels and do not comprise a significant proportion of local vegetable production,\u201d added the agency.<\/p>\n SFA also said it is working closely with the industry to enhance demand and sales of local produce.<\/p>\n Editor\u2019s Note: <\/b>This story has been updated after FairPrice and Sustenir clarified that the products delisted were from earlier packaging used before the farm\u2019s rebranding. Its rebranded products are not affected. Sustenir had previously said it had been affected by FairPrice\u2019s category refresh.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 Locally grown vegetables from at least three farms here will soon no longer be available at supermarket giant FairPrice, The Straits Times has…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":67791,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=67790"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67790\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/67791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=67790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=67790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=67790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/picture><\/div>
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