Mr. Ong is also convinced that the locally farmed seabass, although darker in appearance, is as good as Kukup’s “if not better”.
Many years ago, much of the sea bass eaten in Singapore tasted “muddy” because it came from land-based farms, Mr Ong said.
“Kukup sea bass was raised on saltwater farms, so they took advantage of that advantage (of being tastier). But that advantage is no longer because a lot of the fish farms here are fish farms. seawater,” he said, adding that the government is also very strict on environmental and food safety standards.
FAIR PRICE MONITORING FISH PRICE
The FairPrice supermarket, which sources sea bass from farms in Singapore and Malaysia, said it sources imported seafood through wholesalers “to offer a wide range of harvested fish that meet our specifications. of products”.
“For locally sourced seafood, we would work directly with local fish suppliers and farmers as they are able to meet the required quality standards,” a spokesperson said, adding that this was part of the process. a national initiative to support locally grown foods.
While FairPrice did not say whether it had raised the price of sea bass sold at its outlets, the spokesperson said prices for its fish had “remained stable in recent months”.
“As a retailer, NTUC FairPrice is a price taker and the prices of our products are subject to fluctuations due to market conditions. This includes market forces of demand and supply, weather conditions, agreements international trade, taxation and currency fluctuations,” the spokesperson said.
“Other considerations also include overhead such as labor, infrastructure and transportation.”
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