Milk powder made here cheaper in Malaysia

The Government's push for cheaper milk powder has resulted in the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority approving 24 more brands of formula milk powder for sale in Singapore.

However, it seems that most of the brands sold in Singapore are mostly imported from overseas manufacturers, which might be one of the contributing factors for the higher prices in the first place.

Why aren't locally produced milk powder brands more competitively priced than the foreign imports?

One very popular example is Pediasure by Abbott Singapore, which is made and sold here for about $80 per 1.6kg tin.

Surprisingly, the same product is being sold in Malaysia for about RM150 (S$50).

The only difference is that the Malaysian version is labelled as imported into Malaysia, but it is still made in Singapore.

Is the Malaysian version so inferior compared with the Singapore version that it warrants a difference in price of almost $30?

It is understandable if there is a slight variation in the product's composition, but it cannot be so different that it can result in such a variant in the prices.

I do not see why the Singapore authorities cannot support a local business in selling their products more competitively here.

Yeo Shuan Chee

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on December 21, 2017, with the headline Milk powder made here cheaper in Malaysia. Subscribe