General Election 2008 - They Need Export Market!

I am all for the development of the local farming industry. Our vast land resources have got to be utilised to the best of our ability to spur on demestic growth.

But agriculture is much more than just planting and reaping. It is an industry which entails storage and marketing to make farming a profitable trade.

The local market is still unsaturated, as such there are still potentials for growth in local fruits. The government's plan is to flourish the industry in an effort to spur on growth demestically.

With the rapid investments pouring into orchards locally, a point would be reached when supply exceeds demand. The dumping two days ago might be a sign that we are close to that point.

Without a proper network of export market in place, the local farmers might inevitably land in hot soup, facing volatile pricing and more dumpings.

The local farm owners may work together to better co-ordinate their network of distribution. When the farms were piled up with immovable stocks on one hand, I had a hard time to source for local fruits on the other hand. Apparently there was a breakdown somewhere in the chain.

With due respect, I beg to point out that imported fruits are relatively cheaper than the local produce. That shows that we have more to beef up on productivity and economy of scale. Besides papaya, banana and pineapple, other local produce is not any cheaper. In long run, they may lose out in competition.

Here again, our government should step in to give incentives and backup.

When handsome perks are given away to foreign investors for coming here, it is certainly not too much for the local farming industry to ask for some humble assistance.