Bloomberg News: Fishermen Are Being Pushed to the Brink by Fuel Costs in Southeast Asia

Photographer: Andre Malerba/Bloomberg

 

Bloomberg  ....The effect goes along the supply chain, says Daniel Tay, owner of Straits Seafood Co. and President of the Fish Farmers Association of Singapore. Feed mills put their prices up because their packaging and transport costs have risen and there are also energy costs associated with keeping feed in air-conditioning. A bag of feed that once cost S$50 ($39) now costs at least S$60, he said. Raising one kilogram of fish takes about a year and requires roughly 1.8 kilograms of feed. “If we need to grow 10 tons, which is 10,000 kilograms, multiply that number and it’ll just go crazy,” Tay said. “That’s the scale of the problem.”

.....For Tay at Straits Seafood in Singapore, the bigger fear now is outright demand destruction.“Families that used to eat out every Sunday, now they'll say, ‘No, let's eat out less often’,” he said. “Once households cut back, restaurants close. That'll be the beginning of us reducing our production.”

 source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-05-21/soaring-fuel-costs-push-fishermen-in-southeast-asia-closer-to-the-brink

Local Production Update !

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/local-production-of-veggies-seafood-rose-slightly-in-2025-but-egg-yields-dipped?ref=latest

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Our methods of sourcing food are changing. But in a place like Singapore where food is identity and pride, the culture around it remains deeply rooted. Food security has become not just a logistical concern, but a national priority. How do we ensure that affordable access to food goes hand in hand with preserving the culinary heritage we are proud of?   

source: AsiaOne