SINGAPORE: The Republic is an increasingly important market for Australian food and beverage professionals and businesses, particularly for high-end products and services.

With Singaporeans’ tastes becoming more mature and their willingness to try new flavours, industry players said the city-state is becoming a hotspot for showcasing new and luxury products.

Australian chef Dallas Cuddy heads the kitchen of The Prime Society – a restaurant in Singapore that specialises in Australian beef. He is one of at least 20 head chefs from Down Under in Singapore. The chef moved to the city-state almost three years ago, to get a slice of Singapore’s thriving food culture.

Said Mr Cuddy: “The food scene here is developing on every level. Hawker market food is very good but it is getting internationally-renowned chefs here, and it is seen on the map as a food destination. Singaporeans by nature love their food and they are really open to trying new food so that has really helped the dining scene here improve and evolve.”

“With the new chefs coming in, new ideas and ingredients, locals are really embracing that and growing with the food scene,” he added.

SINGAPORE HOME TO SOPHISTICATED CONSUMERS: INDUSTRY PLAYERS

Australia’s total food exports to Singapore were valued at almost S$1.3 billion (A$1.16 billion) in FY 2013/2014 – up 14 per cent from the year before – according to the Australian Trade Commission.

Australia is one of the top five countries from which Singapore imports its agri-food and beverages. The top agri-food imports include sugar, milk and cream, and meats like lamb, pork and beef.

And the top beverage is wine. Two out of every five bottles of wine drunk in Singapore are from Australia. Australian wines have the largest market share in Singapore in terms of volume, while they are second in terms of value after France.

According to data from the Australian Grape and Wine Authority, Australian wine exports to Singapore rose 37 per cent year-on-year in 2014 to A$59 million, and the ultra-premium segment exports grew by 123 per cent to A$12 million.

Said Mr Andrew O’Brien, general manager for Southeast Asia, Japan, Korea and India at Treasury Wine Estates: “As a showcase market, there are certainly very sophisticated consumers here in Singapore. It is also a great luxury hub for us, for the rest of Southeast Asians who come to Singapore to experience and purchase luxury goods.”

Industry associations said Australian businesses are more likely to expand into Singapore, using it as a platform to grow their presence in Asia.

Said Mr Guy Scott, president of the Australian Chamber of Commerce, Singapore: “A significant amount of Australian businesses have recognised opportunities that exist in Asia, and particularly Singapore and using Singapore as a hub into Asia.

“Something like 60 per cent of Australian businesses are still not properly engaged in the broader Asia, and that is a huge number of businesses that potentially will get left behind as the world continues to globalise.”

Singapore is Australia’s fifth-largest trade partner, with bilateral trade amounting to almost S$25 billion in 2013, according to IE Singapore statistics.

Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/singapore-becoming/1714500.html