Singapore shoppers are avoiding drinks and vegetables
By
Ang Yiying
and
Jessica Lim & Tessa Wong
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
THE tainted milk scandal has damaged confidence in other China-made products here, hitting sales and imports, say several retailers and importers contacted.
Vegetables appear to be the worst-hit, but sales of China-made drinks and even biscuits that do not contain dairy products are affected.
Shopper Chong Soon Heng checking whether a tub of yoghurt was made in China at Sheng Shiong supermarket. -- ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAR
Some shoppers interviewed say they have little faith in anything made in China these days, while others say the tainted milk scandal reinforces the bad impression they have long held of anything made in China.
Retailers, meanwhile, are cutting their stocks of made-in-China produce.
Madam Chiam Li Fang, who runs Xia Ji Vegetable Supplies at the Chinatown Complex wet market, has observed that demand for Chinese vegetables has halved.
'Customers will ask where the vegetables come from. If the vegetables are from China, they will say they do not dare to buy,' said the 43-year-old.
She is now getting more supplies from Malaysia and Indonesia instead.
Another vegetable-seller, who wanted to be known only as Mr Chen, 58, said his customers were avoiding caixin and kailan from China.
Over at Jia Rong Egg Stall, the number of customers buying Chinese salted and century eggs had also dropped by 20 per cent, said stall owner Nah Cai Ning.
Sensing consumers' aversion to food from China, stall owners have been adjusting their supplies accordingly.
Fruit stall owner Soh Lay Kiong, for instance, is taking fewer cartons of China-imported products from his supplier.
But, he says, overall sales are not affected. 'If we don't sell China melon, we sell Australian melon,' said Mr Soh, 40.
Importers are also feeling the pinch.
Sin Hua Hock Kee, which imports China-made condiments and confectionery, has stopped ordering biscuits from China, even though the items do not contain dairy products.
Said company spokesman Valerie Goh: 'Some minimarts and supermarkets we supply to have stopped selling many items from China. We see a fall in demand, so we are putting imports on hold. Who knows what will happen next?'
Drink manufacturer Heng Sheng Corporation, which imports its concentrate from China, has suffered a 5 per cent drop in sales.
Ms May Loo, an employee at Seng Hong Pte Ltd, which imports canned food and other produce from China, said: 'I've been hearing a lot from our wholesalers and wet market stallholders who tell us that consumers, especially housewives, are coming to the conclusion that all China food is tainted.'
However, Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) spokesman Goh Shih Yong stressed that the issue is only about milk and products containing milk from China.
Consumers should not be 'unnecessarily worried', he said.
Shoppers are not heeding that advice, though.
Six in 10 shoppers interviewed at the Chinatown wet market said they were doing their best to avoid any kind of food product from China.
Said Madam Christine Ng, 44: 'At the moment, anything from China, I'm worried about. Even tea leaves.'
Meanwhile, at least one supermarket chain here has started pulling products which are not made in China, but which may contain China dairy.
It is the first indication that the melamine-tainted milk scare has affected globally produced food items.
Giant said last night that it has yanked at least 10 such products after suppliers asked to recall items while they await test results.
Among the items are a product by well-known brand Lee Kum Kee, the MOS Pork Bone Base, and Want Want Rice Cracker Seaweed.
Over 50,000 babies in China and six children in Asia have been struck with kidney-related illnesses as a result of consuming tainted milk and milk products.
