Rapid growth in Singapore’s food industry despite labour shortages: Tharman

SINGAPORE – Singapore’s food industry has grown quite rapidly in the last five years, despite labour shortages, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said at the opening of BreadTalk Group’s new S$67 million headquarters today (Oct 4).

The 10-storey building will house the group’s corporate office, central kitchen, research and development lab and 550 employees.

Mr Tharman also announced that a new Partnerships for Capability Transformation (PACT) project for the food industry will be launched.

The project, which is between Unilever Food Solutions and the Restaurant Association of Singapore, will help local restaurateurs in areas such as menu planning and high volume production cooking.

Mr Tharman said: “The labour market will remain tight. The supply of land will also remain tight. And the food industry is also increasingly crowded and highly competitive - with many establishments being formed in recent years, despite the labour shortage.

“We therefore have to go for quality growth in the food industry, not volume growth. Just like for our economy as a whole.”

Mr George Quek, group chairman of the BreadTalk Group, said: “The curbs on foreign manpower have posed a challenge to the service industry. So we need to develop our existing workforce, our older workers - to help them learn new skills, improve and become more productive.

“Another important piece is to tap on talent from the local educational institutions, such as the ITE (Institute of Technical Education).” CHANNEL NEWSASIA