SALE OF CHILLED MEAT IN WET MARKETS (Provision of chillers)

Dr Lily Neo asked the Minister for the Environment whether his Ministry will facilitate the sale of chilled meat by retrofitting wet markets with chillers for use by meat sellers.

The Minister for the Environment (Mr Yeo Cheow Tong): Mr Speaker, Sir, as announced on 23rd April 1999, chilled fresh meat supplied to wet markets will have to be sold in display chillers. This will ensure that the meat sold in the wet markets is safe and hygienic.

Stallholders selling pork in wet markets will have to install display chillers by 1st November 1999. Those selling poultry have one year to put in their display chillers and those selling mutton and beef 18 months to do likewise.

The stallholders will have to buy the display chillers themselves. The cost of the chiller, at between $3,000 and $6,000, is not exorbitant. The investment in a chiller is a business decision that stallholders need to make if they wish to remain in the business of selling meat.

So far, three finance companies have informed my Ministry that they are prepared to offer loans of between 80% and 95% of the cost of the chillers, with repayment over one to four years and interest rates of between 3.5% and 4% per annum.

Four suppliers of chillers have also agreed to allow interest-free instalment payments.

The Government on its part will spend some $6.5 million to upgrade electricity supply in the wet markets to enable the chillers to operate.

Dr Lily Neo (Kreta Ayer-Tanglin): Sir, may I ask the Minister if ENV would assist those meat sellers in our wet markets who have financial difficulties to retrofit and install the chillers in their stalls?

Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: Sir, as I mentioned just now, those stallholders who are facing difficulties paying for the chillers can obtain loans to buy the chillers. They can get the loan from the finance companies and, as I mentioned, some of the companies are prepared to offer 4-year loans at fairly attractive interest rates of 3.5% to 4%.

Dr Lily Neo: In such circumstances, would the Minister consider installing the chillers for them and allowing them to pay by instalments?

Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: Sir, it is best for the stallholders to decide which particular chiller best meets their business volume. If they are prepared to pay by instalments, they might as well get the loans directly from the finance companies. Assuming they get a bigger chiller which costs $6,000 and they pay over four years or 50 repayments, I think the monthly instalment is very affordable.

Dr Lee Tsao Yuan (Nominated Member): Could the Minister give some ballpark figures of the cost of the chiller or the monthly instalments vis-a-vis the monthly rental or the average income of these stallholders?

Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: Sir, it depends very much on the size of the chiller and the length of the repayment period that they opt for. If you take a smaller chiller which costs about $3,000, and divide it by three years, it is $1,000 a year or about $100 a month. Some of the stallholders sell up to about 10 pigs a day which would fetch them a turnover of about $3,500. In terms of the cost per month versus the turnover, I think the cost comprises a very small percentage of the turnover.

Dr Lee Tsao Yuan: Sir, that is a percentage of the turnover. What about the percentage of the income?

Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: Sir, we do not know exactly how much the hawkers make. But my assumption is that the profit level must be quite attractive because there are about 1,000 stallholders selling pork in Singapore and the fact that already 107 stallholders have placed their orders for the chillers shows that it is a business decision which they are prepared to take and make and the purchase of the chillers still makes the business of selling pork a very viable and attractive one.

Mr Shriniwas Rai (Nominated Member): Sir, may I ask the Minister a serious question whether he would start a campaign for people to eat more vegetables and fish?

Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: Sir, in my other hat, as the Minister for Health, in fact, that is what we have been doing, ie, encouraging Singaporeans to live a healthy lifestyle which includes having a well-balanced diet. This means not just having meat but also having a healthy spread of other items like vegetables.

Dr S. Vasoo (Tanjong Pagar): Sir, may I ask the Minister why the stallholders must install chillers now and not before, and could chillers solve the problem of Japanese Encephalitis (JE)?

Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: Sir, in fact, the plan to move to the cold chain has been in discussion for quite some time and the recent episode of JE and the Nipah virus highlighted the need for us to speed up this plan. Why do we need to go to the chilled meat and the cold chain system? Under the old system, the animals were slaughtered and they were straightaway brought to the markets, which means there was very little time for the proper analysis to be carried out as to whether that pig was in any way infected. By having the chilled meat system, it allows the abattoirs to hold on to the meat after slaughter and it ensures that the blood and the internal organs can be properly analysed. By having the chilled meat system we will in fact be in a better position to assure Singaporeans that the meat that they buy from the markets is well inspected and found to be free of diseases.

Dr Lee Tsao Yuan: What this really means is that in a way consumers have no choice in the matter. Is it not possible to leave this as a matter of choice? In other words, for those who want chillers to be installed, by all means install chillers and the basis of that is a possible improvement in health; for those who want to continue to eat fresh meat, allow them to do so.

Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: Sir, once the meat is chilled it is proper and best to sell it as chilled. The reason is that when the meat is chilled and left in the open, especially in our very humid environment, a lot of moisture forms on the meat and that actually speeds up deterioration of the meat. So we must ensure that the meat remains chilled up to the point of sale.