Singapore, the richest country in Southeast Asia, is experiencing a shortage of imported fresh seafood as travel bans hinder delivery of the products from supply countries, The Business Times reported 19 March.
High-quality products such as premium Japanese sashimi, French lobsters, turbot, and Italian branzino are epicurean favorites at Singapore's fine-dining establishments.
But lockdowns in various countries, increased safety measures, logistical hurdles, and cancelations of flights to and from Singapore are resulting in disruptions in the supply of live and fresh seafood to Singapore, forcing restaurants in the island city-state to find alternative foods or switch to other ingredients, including meat or vegetables, to serve their customers.
"I have a partnership with a Japanese supplier and many internal flights in the country have been canceled because of the coronavirus. So, all our cargo to Singapore has been delayed. But at least it is still coming," a local importer told The Business Times. "My cargo from Europe has been delayed until further notice. Even my shipment from Sri Lanka is supposed to have arrived by now, but there's a partial lockdown there for two weeks, so I don't know when it will come."
Shipments from Italy, France, and Spain have been hit the hardest. Deliveries from the United Kingdom and Ireland, meanwhile, are expected to be impacted soon, a spokesman for Classic Fine Foods said.
Seafood production activities are likely to be impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, which will in turn affect supply to Singapore.
As major carriers such as Singapore Airlines have canceled flights to and from many countries, importers have to find other airlines for their cargoes.
"It's mostly the fine-dining restaurants that are affected," the Classic Fine Foods representative said. "They use specific fresh ingredients from Europe, while the rest of the industry uses local or frozen ingredients that move by road or sea."
This comes as another blow to local importers who are struggling with fewer orders from local restaurants due to lower demand from local residents and tourists.
Restaurants, including Zafferano Italian Restaurant and Lounge, Naked Finn, Sushi Kimura, Ichigo Ichie, and Michelin-starred restaurant Les Amis all saw their imported seafood orders negatively impacted, the newspaper said.
Photo courtesy of Benny Marty/Shutterstock
