Essay Draft 3

To what extent should Singapore promote locally produced goods?

Advances in communication technology, in transport and in a plethora of other areas have made the world today more interconnected than ever before. The world economies are increasingly interdependent through a rapid increase in the cross-border movement of goods and services. As trade barriers are largely alleviated, it facilitates international trade between nations. Singapore is one of the top-trading hubs in the world. Its market is highly open and trade-oriented as the country lacks natural resources to produce goods such as agriculture products, thus, having to rely on imports. However, depending on imports for basic necessities makes Singapore vulnerable to external economies’ financial situations. It is important that Singapore promote locally grown products to ensure the economy is self-reliant. To achieve this, it requires combination efforts taken by government, Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) and community in promoting locally grown agriculture products.

According to Singstat, Singapore’s international trade expanded in 2012 with imports of foreign-produced goods increased by 8.2%. One of the main imports of Singapore is food, including agricultural vegetables and fruits. In his TED talk, Goldin (2009) mentioned that there is an increasing complexity as what happens in one place rapidly affects other places as seen in the world financial crisis, which hit hard on America and Europe but indirectly affected the Singapore economy. America and Europe are among the top exporters of agricultural products to Singapore. Singapore’s trade in June 2013 extended the longest run of declines since the global financial crisis.

Singapore’s economic behavior is easily affected by external factors, it is important to minimize the effect through various measures taken by the authorities. The Singapore government should encourage the consumption of locally grown goods so as to reduce Singapore’s vulnerability to external economic factors. Many Singaporeans are unaware and skeptical of locally harvested agriculture products. Thus, there is a need to raise awareness of these locally grown products through fairs and campaigns. For instance, in Ghana, Melcom Group of Companies has embarked on an initiative to build consumer confidence in local products by promoting Made-in-Ghana goods. The ‘Made-in-Ghana Festival’ objective was to demonstrate confidence in Ghana’s manufacturing industry. It showcases achievement in local production and give the consumers a local quality and value. I feel that Singapore can adopt this solution by having its own ‘Made-in-Singapore Festival’ to showcase its production. According to Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), there is an increase in locally produced farm goods such as vegetables, fishes and eggs. Its sales of these locally grown products have gone up by 40% over the past three years. As this example illustrates, the festival can expose more Singaporeans to the types of goods that are locally produced.

However, encouraging consumption of locally produced goods means rejecting foreign imported products. This would take a longer period of time to achieve as it involves changing individuals’ taste and preferences. One would not change his consumption habits immediately if he perceived the imported goods to be superior to locally grown agriculture products. Furthermore, it is impossible for Singapore to be totally self-reliant, as we have very limited land space to harvest agriculture products to feed the entire population. Despite this issue, The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) has been working on developing vertical systems for farming vegetables in confined spaces. One such system is the "Veggie Pipe," which stacks water pipes to house the vegetable. This makes it ideal for Singapore to minimize usage of land space for growing crops.

Ross (2000) concluded in her research which shows that the opportunity to sample and taste local foods at work sites increases the chance that people will continue to purchase locally produced goods outside of the workplace as well. In Canada, the community shared agriculture (CSA) programs were introduced to promote local food; these allowed consumers to directly share in the local harvest.  Singapore has adopted a similar concept by launching the ‘Cool Ideas on Growing Vegetables at Home’ campaign. This campaign allows residents to grow vegetables in HDB estates and the residents play the part in harvesting their own crops. For example, Yishun Town Garden has become a mini vegetable farm within the HDB estate; vegetable sprout such as lettuce, spinach, pumpkins and maize are grown. However, this project is still mainly maintained by the board, which limits the involvement of the residents. This community involvement program should provide hands on experience for the residents to encourage consumption of locally produced farming products.

In conclusion, the increasing interconnectedness of economies raises the need for one nation to be less dependent on external economies. However, economies cannot block off all imports, especially for the case of Singapore, as we lack resources to be self-reliant. Although this is often viewed as a task hard to be achieved, I believe that so long as respective authorities step in and embark on constant innovation to promote locally grown products, Singapore can become self-reliant.

(759 words)

References

Curitti, E. (n.d.). Promoting local food. Retrieved from http://www.projecthealth.ca/files/upload/TK_HE_Rethinking_7_3_9_Promoting_LOCAL_FOOD.pdf

Department of Statistics Singapore, (2014). Singapore's external trade. Retrieved from website: http://www.singstat.gov.sg/statistics/browse_by_theme/trade.html

Lim, J. (2010, December 7). Growing trend of eating local produce in singapore. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://wildsingaporenews.blogspot.sg/2010/12/growing-trend-of-eating-local-produce.html

Choong, O. (2012, April 12). Ava introduces new veggie home growing kit. TODAY. Retrieved from http://sggreendrinks.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/today-ava-introduces-new-veggie-home-growing-kit/

Ross, N. J. (2000). Increasing purchases of locally grown produce through worksite sales: An ecological model. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022318200705899

Shamin, A. (2013, July 17). Singapore exports in longest slump since global crisis. Bloomberg News. Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-17/singapore-exports-fall-8-8-in-longest-slump-since-global-crisis.html

Yang, M. L. (1989, February 14). Vegetables sprout in hdb estates. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://newspapers.nl.sg/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19890214-1.2.56.aspx

Zeney, G. D. (2013, October 8). Melcom group of companies has embarked on an initiative to build consumer confidence in local products by promoting made-in-ghana goods.. Retrieved from http://www.ghana.gov.gh/index.php/2012-02-08-08-32-47/general-news/3324-melcom-to-promote-made-in-ghana-goods

Reader Response (Final)

In "Globalisation of Culture through the Media", Kraidy (2002) presented the debatable issue that media has been used as a platform to promote globalisation. He provided a few perspectives of globalisation, one of which is cultural imperialism. Some researchers’ expressed their concerns over how the West has unfairly propagated her own culture.  Kriady concluded that hybridisation of various cultures has been further enhanced by media.

Kraidy draws the conclusion that "media is not a process of complete homogenisation, but rather one where cohesion and fragmentation coexist". (Paragraph 15) He mentions media is a main tool used to strengthened culture hybridisation.  I agree with his assertions because I recognise the importance of media in binding the world as one as social groups get increasingly integrated and connected.

Language is an example of cultural hybridisation. Many argued that half of the 7,000 languages spoken worldwide would be extinct by the next century as English gradually becomes the common language around the world. (Moore, 2014) However, I feel that while some native languages will disappear, we should not neglect the new languages that have emerged. For instance, languages such as Hinglish, Chinglish, and Japlish have been introduced and they all stemmed from a mixture of English and their respective native languages. This is also evident in Singapore, where we have our local version known as 'Singlish' - a hybrid of local dialects, Chinese and English. Singaporean prefers to use this language to communicate and it is seen as integral to our identity. (BBC news, 2001)

Kraidy fails to address the reason behind culture imperialism, which is useful in explaining why developing countries are concerned that globalisation of cultures is unjust due to Western dominance. I would elaborate further than him as I think globalisation is not all about Westernisation, it is a process of cultural hybridization in which traditions are retained. Emerging countries such as India are not blindly adopting Western ideas as they seek to modernise their countries. (Modi, 2013) I suggest that developing nations, while aspiring to be like the West economically, they should still preserve their cultural identity.

(346 words)

References

Modi, N.,(2013). We need modernisation, not westernisation. Retrieved from website: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/we-need-modernisation-not-westernisation-narendra-modi-391967

Moore, O. (2014, January 23). Thinking globalisation. The Royal Gazette. Retrieved from http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20140123/ISLAND07/140129896

Singapore attack on 'Singlish'. (2001, April 01). BBC News. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1261986.stm

Modi,

Essay Draft 2

To what extent should Singapore promote locally produced goods?

Advances in communication technology, transport and in a plethora of other areas have made the world today more interconnected than ever before. The world economies are increasingly interdependence through a rapid increase in cross-border movement of goods and services. As trade barriers are largely alleviated, it facilitates international trades between nations. Singapore is one of the top-trading hubs in the world. Its market is highly opened and trade-oriented as Singapore lacks natural resources to produce goods such as agriculture products, thus, having to rely on its imports. However, depending on imports for basic necessities would make us vulnerable to external economies’ happenings. It is important that we promote locally produced goods to strengthened local economy.

According to Singstat, Singapore’s international trade expanded in 2012 with imports of foreign-produced goods increased by 8.2% in 2012. One of the main imports of Singapore is food including agricultural vegetables and fruits. In his TED talk, Goldin (2009) mentioned that there is an increasingly complexity as what happens in one place rapidly affects other things as seen in financial crisis. Take for instance, the recent economic crisis that has hit hard on America and Europe indirectly affected Singapore economy, as America and Europe are one of the top importers of agricultural products to Singapore. Singapore’s trades in June extended the longest run of declines since the global financial crisis.

The Singapore government should encourage the consumption of locally grown goods so as to reduce Singapore’s vulnerability to external threats. Many Singaporeans are unaware and skeptical of locally harvested agriculture products thus there is a need to raise awareness of it through fairs and campaigns. For instance, in Ghana, Melcom Group of Companies has embarked on an initiative to build consumer confidence in local products by promoting Made-in-Ghana goods. The ‘Made-in-Ghana Festival’ objective was to demonstrate confidence in Ghana’s manufacturing industry. It showcases achievement in local production and give the consumers a local quality and value. I feel that Singapore can adopt this solution by having its own ‘Made-in-Singapore Festival’ to showcase its production. According to Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), there is an increase in locally produced farm goods such as vegetables, fishes and eggs. Its sales of these locally grown products have gone up by 40% over the past three years. Thus, the festival can expose to more Singaporeans to the types of goods that are locally produced.

However, encouraging consumption of locally produced goods means requiring one to switch away from foreign imported products. This would take a longer period of time to achieve as it involves changing individuals’ taste and preferences. One would not change its consumption habits immediately if he perceived the imported goods to be superior to locally grown agriculture products. Furthermore, it is impossible for Singapore to be totally self-reliant, as we have very limited land space to harvest agriculture products to feed the entire population. Despite this issue, The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) has been working on developing vertical systems for farming vegetables in confined spaces. One such system is the "Veggie Pipe" which stacks water pipes to house the vegetable. This makes it ideal for Singapore to minimize usage of land space for growing crops.

Ross (2000) concluded in her research which show that giving the opportunity to sample and taste local foods at work sites increases the chance that people will continue to purchase locally produced goods outside of the workplace as well. In Canada, the community shared agriculture (CSA) programs were introduced to promote local food; it allows consumers to directly have share in the local harvest.  Singapore has adopted a similar concept by launching the ‘Cool Ideas on Growing Vegetables at Home’ campaign. This campaign allows residents on growing vegetables in HDB estates and the residents play the part in harvesting their own crops. For example, Yishun Town Garden has become a mini vegetable farm with the HDB estate; vegetable sprout such as lettuce, spinach, pumpkins and maize are grown. However, this project is still mainly maintained by the board, which limits the involvement of the residents. This community involvement program should provide hands on for the residents to encourage locally produced farming products.

In conclusion, the increasing interconnectedness of economies raises the need for one nation to be less dependent on external economies. However, we cannot block off all imports especially for the case of Singapore as we lack resources to be self-reliant. I believe that the combination of effort taken by government, Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) and community are necessary and effective in promoting locally grown agriculture products.

(759 words)

References

Curitti, E. (n.d.). Promoting local food. Retrieved from http://www.projecthealth.ca/files/upload/TK_HE_Rethinking_7_3_9_Promoting_LOCAL_FOOD.pdf

Department of Statistics Singapore, (2014). Singapore's external trade. Retrieved from website: http://www.singstat.gov.sg/statistics/browse_by_theme/trade.html

Lim, J. (2010, December 7). Growing trend of eating local produce in singapore. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://wildsingaporenews.blogspot.sg/2010/12/growing-trend-of-eating-local-produce.html

Olivia. (2012, April 12). Ava introduces new veggie home growing kit. TODAY. Retrieved from http://sggreendrinks.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/today-ava-introduces-new-veggie-home-growing-kit/

Ross, N. J. (2000). Increasing purchases of locally grown produce through worksite sales: An ecological model. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022318200705899

Shamin, A. (2013, July 17). Singapore exports in longest slump since global crisis. Bloomberg News. Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-17/singapore-exports-fall-8-8-in-longest-slump-since-global-crisis.html

Yang, M. L. (1989, February 14). Vegetables sprout in hdb estates. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://newspapers.nl.sg/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19890214-1.2.56.aspx

Zeney, G. D. (2013, October 8). Melcom group of companies has embarked on an initiative to build consumer confidence in local products by promoting made-in-ghana goods.. Retrieved from http://www.ghana.gov.gh/index.php/2012-02-08-08-32-47/general-news/3324-melcom-to-promote-made-in-ghana-goods

Essay Outline (Draft 1)

To what extent should Singapore government promote locally produced goods?

a. Description of a situation

• According to Singstat, Singapore’s total trade amounted to 87.2 per cent of Gross Domestic Product in 2001. Total exports grew by 4.2 per cent in January 2014. Singapore has signed Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with many countries such as Taiwan, New Zealand to facilitate trading of goods and services. Although Singapore’s economy is open, we are gradually moving to be more independent from trades.

b. Identification of a problem

• Singapore is a country that lacks natural resources and we depend very much on exports and investments. It relies mainly on its trade-oriented market economy.
• ‘Global Village’, as the world has become increasingly integrated and connected, what affects one country will affect others as well.
• The recent economic crisis that has hit hard on America and Europe countries, indirectly affected Singapore economy as well
• Singapore's exports in June extended the longest run of declines since the global financial crisis

c. Description of a solution #1

• Agriculture products
• The government should promote locally grown goods to boost local consumption and reduce imports from other countries.
• Melcom Group of Companies has embarked on an initiative to build consumer confidence in local products by promoting Made-in Ghana goods
• 'Made-in-Ghana Festival' has amongst other things the objectives to demonstrate confidence in Ghana’s manufacturing industry, showcase achievement in local production and give the shopper a local alternative in quality and value.
• Singapore can adopt this solution (e.g 'Made-in-Singapore' Festival)
• Raise awareness that certain food and products are also produced by Singapore
• According to Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), increase locally produced farm products such as vegetables, fishes and eggs. 
• Sales of local produce - mostly vegetables, eggs and fish - have gone up by as much as 40 per cent over the past three years

d. Evaluation of the solution #1

• This is a long term solution as it involves changing consumers’ taste and preferences
• Changing people's habits
• Singapore is is not possible to be totally self-reliant as certain goods are unable to be produced in Singapore due to 
• lack of land space and natural resources

e. Description of solution #2

• Promote local products by adopting differential mark- ups for local products, for instance where they were applying a uniform mark-up of say 15%, they could lower the mark-up on local products to 10% and increase the mark -up on imported goods to 20%.
• Similar goods with a lower price would be encouraged people to buy it.

f.  Evaluation of the solution #2

• The general notion among some Ghanaians have been that locally manufactured goods are inferior to imported and foreign manufactured goods in terms of performance and quality
• Some people are still willing to buy goods that are more expensive when they perceive it to be of better quality.

g. Thesis Statement/Introduction

• Singapore is one of the nations in the Four Asian Tigers
• Four Asian Tigers : highly free and developed nations. These nations were notable for maintaining exceptionally high growth rates and rapid industrialisation 
• Critics argued that Singapore's economic prosperity is mainly due to its heavy  dependence on trading. Personally, i feel that there are several other equally important factors that contributes to Singapore's growing economy.