Supermarkets Increase Imports of Thai Chilled Chicken Following M’sia Export Ban

2022-06-03 , 12:55 pm

With Malaysia’s export ban, supermarkets in Singapore are turning to Thai chilled chicken to fill their shelves.

Here’s why they’re choosing Thai chilled chicken over others.

Current Supply of Fresh Chicken Dwindling

Did you know that Singapore imports about 34% of our fresh chicken from Malaysia?

Given how Malaysia has implemented the export ban and how everyone was panic-buying chicken, the local supermarkets’ stocks of fresh chicken is slowly but surely dwindling.

In fact, according to Shin Min Daily News, many industry players said that the current supply of fresh chicken can only last for about one more week before running out.

With the shortage of fresh chicken, many others are now turning to chilled chicken.

Difference Between Fresh, Chilled and Frozen Chicken

To know the difference between fresh and frozen chicken, you can watch this video below:

Chilled chickens, however, are way closer to fresh chickens than frozen chickens.

To meet the criteria of chilled, the chicken parts must not be frozen, and must be kept between 0 to 4°C. Since the meat hasn’t been frozen, it retains its soft quality, so there’s no difference in taste between fresh and chilled chicken.

However, Singapore only allows imports of chilled chicken from nine manufacturers based in Thailand, Australia and New Zealand.

With Thailand being the closest to us, they currently offer the most competitive prices for chilled chicken.

Only One Company Importing Thai Chilled Chicken?

According to Shin Min Daily News, the only company in Singapore that imports Thai chilled chicken is CS Tay Foods.

The executive director told Shin Min that the company started imported S-Pure chilled chicken from Thailand in July 2021. The S-Pure brand offers high-quality chickens and is immensely popular in Thailand and Hong Kong.

This brand of chilled chicken is shipped directly from Thailand by air, with the process ensuring that the chicken is maintained at 0 to 4°C for maximum freshness.

The director happened to be in Thailand when Malaysia announced the export ban, and immediately arranged to increase imports. The company originally imports about 8,000 packs per week, but has increased it to 75,000 packs due to the export ban.

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Expect To See Thai Chicken in Supermarket Shelves Soon

When CS Tay Foods first started importing Thai chilled chicken last year, it was sold mainly in Isetan and selected Cold Storage outlets.

However, with the export ban, you can expect to see more supermarkets stocking Thai chilled chicken. The director revealed that this chicken will be available in Giant, Cold Storage, and FairPrice supermarkets very soon.

However, you should be prepared to fork out more for this chicken, as it is nearly twice as expensive as the typical Malaysian fresh chicken. However, Thai chilled chicken is still cheaper than organic chicken.

This price difference can be explained by how S-Pure is a high-quality chicken brand. The chicken farms do not use antibiotics or growth hormones on the chickens, and the chickens aren’t kept in cages.

Additionally, the air transport to Singapore coupled with how the meat is maintained at low temperatures also adds to the cost.

Despite this, the price of Thai chilled chicken has not raised since it was launched in Singapore last year. CS Tay Foods also assured the public that they will not raise prices unnecessarily.