Poultry supply in Singapore not affected by bird flu outbreak in Brazil, supermarkets say
The chicken section at Sheng Siong supermarket in McNair Road on May 20.
PHOTO: AsiaOne/Hoon Jeng Jee
PUBLISHED ONMay 20, 2025 6:15 AMByHoon Jeng JeePoultry supply remains stable despite Brazil reporting its first bird flu outbreak at a commercial farm last week, supermarkets in Singapore said on Tuesday (May 20).
On Friday (May 16), Brazil, the world's largest chicken exporter, confirmed its first outbreak of bird flu in a commercial farm.
A FairPrice Group spokesperson said the supermarket chain is currently not impacted by the the bird flu outbreak in Brazil and encouraged customers not to stockpile pork or poultry.
The spokesperson added that it is exploring new partnerships and solutions to further diversify and strengthen its supply chain.
Sheng Siong said its poultry supply remains stable.
Besides Brazil, the supermarket chain said it also gets poultry from Denmark and Thailand, ensuring a diversified supply chain.
Lee, who runs Chiang Heng Poultry in Bendemeer Market, told AsiaOne that supply is largely unaffected as she only imports fresh chicken from Malaysia.
However, the chicken stall owner in her 60s said a few customers were hesitant to buy her products after hearing about the bird flu outbreak.
"Some customers get scared when there's an outbreak like this, so I'm a bit worried about my business," she said.
On Monday (May 19), the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS) issued a joint statement which said that Singapore does not import poultry or poultry products from the affected farm in Brazil.
They added that Singapore has a bird flu regionalisation arrangement with Brazil, such that imports from affected establishments and those within a buffer zone may be suspended while those imports from unaffected areas outside the buffer zone can continue.
"While our overall supply of poultry is currently stable, we can expect supply fluctuations from time to time due to disease outbreaks and supply disruptions."
The statement said that SFA also accredits new sources of poultry that meet the agency's food safety requirements.
It added that Singapore's poultry supply is also well-diversified with 30 accredited sources, including countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Denmark, and Malaysia.
"If there are supply disruptions from any source, we will work with the industry to increase chilled and frozen chicken supply from other sources if necessary."
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