2002/03 Annual report - Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore

health, food safety; and the possibility of
Singapore providing consultancy to the
Department of Agriculture in Brunei.
At the 3rd AVA-DGLS (Directorate General
of Livestock Services), Indonesia Bilateral
Meeting held in Singapore on 5 November
2002, AVA expressed interest in seeking
sources of layer day-old chicks and eggs
from Indonesia and supported DGLS’s
request for collaboration to train their
laboratory personnel at AVA. AVA also
sought clarification on the Indonesian
system of meat inspection for beef and
poultry and informed that the inspection
system at Bulan will be reviewed.
A bilateral technical meeting with the
Director of Veterinary Services (DVS),
Malaysia was held on 24 February 2003
for the specific discussion of export of
pork to Singapore.
Extending Technical Assistance
A training course on tissue culture of
orchids was organised for Myanmar under
the Initiative for ASEAN Integration and
Myanmar Technical Assistance Funding
Co-operation from 2–7 March 2003.
The course, conducted by AVA officers,
covered theory and practical sessions
on plant tissue culture techniques, media
formulations and in-vitro seed cultures.
As part of the MOU signed on 12 October
2001 with the Riau Government of
Indonesia on transferring vegetable farming
and post-harvest technology to Indonesian
farmers, AVA oversaw the development
of a ten-hectare demonstration site for
vegetable production in Pekanbaru by the
Riau farmers with the support of the Riau
government. The launch of the first
commercial shipment of Riau vegetables
was witnessed by the Riau Governor,
Saleh Djasit, and Minister for Trade and
Industry, BG George Yeo, in Singapore on
13 July 2002, marking a milestone for the
transfer of expertise and technology in
vegetable farming from Singapore and the
initiation of commercial vegetable farming
at Pekanbaru.
AVA undertook the development of a
Lao PDR–Singapore Demonstration Fish
Hatchery Project (LSDFHP) at Nam Thon,
Lao PDR under Singapore’s Ministry of
Foreign Affairs’ technical assistance
programme to Lao PDR. The project aims
to train Lao fisheries officers to establish
similar fish hatcheries in other provinces
in Lao PDR in order to catalyse the
development of freshwater fish farming
in Lao PDR. The project was successfully
completed in September 2002.
Mr Mah Bow Tan, Minister for National
Development, visited the LSDFHP on
9 October 2002, while attending the
24th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers
on Agriculture and Forestry in Ventiane.
Free Trade Agreements
During the year, AVA actively participated
in preparations for Singapore’s negotiations
on Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with
Australia, Canada, India and USA. The
FTA between Singapore and the European
Free Trade Association (comprising
Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and
Iceland) came into force on 1 January 2003.
The Singapore-Australia FTA was signed
on 17 February 2003. AVA was mainly
involved in the areas on mutual recognition
agreement on food, and sanitary and
phytosanitary (SPS) measures for trade in
agricultural products and food. The SPS
measures cover the import, export and
accreditation procedures and certification
on safety of food products, and the health
of plants and animals and their products.
Custom clearance of products included
in the agreement is also expected to be
faster hence giving Singapore products
the advantage of being fresher than similar
products from other countries.
From 1 March 2003, the Sectoral Annex
on Horticultural Goods under the
Singapore-Australia FTA was implemented,
allowing the export of orchid flowers and
fresh foliages to Australia greater flexibility
in terms of inspection and treatment upon
arrival at any Australian port. This measure
is expected to result in immediate resource
savings for Singapore exporters and
enhance their competitiveness. For example
the exemption from mandatory fumigation
requirements for orchids exported to
Australia translates to improved quality
and shelf life of orchids sold in the Australian
market relative to other sources; hence
increasing the competitiveness of Singapore
cut orchids. Two local exporters are now
exporting cut orchids to Australia under
this special arrangement. Australia is our
third largest importing country for orchids
and foliages.
On the US-Singapore FTA, AVA was
involved in the provision for protection
of test data for marketing approvals of
agricultural chemical products, Singapore’s
proposed accession to the International
Convention for the Protection of New
Varieties of Plants and (CITES) matters.
Negotiations are on-going for a
Singapore-Republic of Korea, Singapore-
Mexico and Singapore-Canada FTA.
The first round of negotiations on the
Singapore-India FTA is anticipated in May
2003.
Distinguished Visitors
During the year, various dignitaries visited
AVA for discussions and explorations for
collaborative work, and to tour our various
centres and Agrotechnology Parks.
Among the dignitaries received were:
April 2002
Mr Bartels, Minister of Agriculture,
Lower Saxony and Mr Miller, Minister of
Agriculture, Bavaria
(To discuss on how AVA regulates import
of agricultural products)
May 2002
HE Juan Martabit, Ambassador of Chile
and his delegation
(To discuss the export of meat and meat
products from Chile to Singapore)
HE Dr Suvarn Valaisathien, Deputy Minister
of Commerce, Thailand and his delegation
(To discuss on frozen pork exports to
Singapore)
June 2002
HE Mahinda Wijesekera, Minister of
Fisheries and Ocean Resources, Sri Lanka
and his delegation
(To discuss the agriculture industry in
Singapore, regulations on import and export
of ornamental and food fish. Visited the
farms in the Agrotechnology Parks)
July 2002
Mr Yang Xin Hua, Vice Governor of
Liaoning Province, People’s Republic
of China and his 15-member delegation
(To study the food, agriculture and
technology industries, the distribution
and marketing systems in Singapore,
also to discuss the export of meat and
meat products, fruits and other agricultural
produce from Liaoning Province to
Singapore. Visited the Veterinary Public
Health Laboratory)
The three experts of AVA’s International
Advisory Committee:
i) Dr Gardner Murray, Chief Veterinary
Officer & Executive Manager for
Product Integrity, Animal and Plant
Health, Department of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Forestry, Australia;
ii) Professor Dirk Pfeiffer, Head of
Veterinary Epidemiology, Royal
Veterinary College, University of
London, UK;
iii) Dr Thomas Ksiazek, Chief of Disease
Assessment, Centers for Disease
Control, USA.
(To review and assess AVA’s food safety
and biosecurity programmes)
HE Kim Chance, Minister for Agriculture
Forestry and Fisheries, Western Australia
and his delegation
(To discuss the import & export
procedures of agriculture produce,
animals and plants, accreditation of
foreign establishments and farms, animals
and plant health programmes, and food
inspection and quality control)
August 2002
Professor Rueben Rose, Dean of University
of Sydney and his delegation
(To discuss the entrance requirement,
application procedures, course structure,
accreditation systems for Veterinary
Science in Sydney)
September 2002
Mr Gordon Richardson, Canadian Trade
Counsellor and his delegation
(To study the agriculture industry in
Singapore, visit the farms in the
Agrotechnology Parks)
Mr Marcelo Mazzini, Head, International
Trade Division, Brazilian Ministry of
Agriculture, Livestock and Supplies and
Mr Carlos b Pheysey, Trade Officer,
Embassy of Brazil
(To discuss export of meat and meat
products to Singapore)
January 2003
HE Harshwardhan Patil, Minister for
Marketing & Employment Guarantee
Scheme, State Government of
Maharashtra, India and his delegation
(To study the agriculture industry in
Singapore, regulations on import and
export of agriculture produce)
Through the sharing of knowledge
and technical expertise such
as in the Lao PDR-Singapore
Demonstration Fish Hatchery
Project, AVA enhances economic
co-operation.
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