Singaporeans going bananas over fruit from Malaysia

SINGAPORE: Consumers in Singapore are snapping up more fruit from Malaysia, buying 6 per cent more every year for the last three years.

Last year, about 144,600 tonnes of fruit were imported from across the Causeway, accounting for 35 per cent of total fruit imports that year, figures from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) show.

This made Malaysia the top source of fruit for Singapore. Other main sources include China, the Philippines, South Africa and the United States.

Singapore brings in about 50 types of fruit from Malaysia; the top five, in order of popularity, are watermelon, papaya, durian, banana and pineapple, AVA said.

Fans of Malaysian fruit say they tend to be fresher and taste better.

Fruit stall manager Woo Jin Shun, 50, said: "Our customers like Malaysian fruit because they are fresher. They also say they can taste a difference in the texture, especially the durians." About 60 per cent of the fruit at the Geylang stall, Wonderful Durian, where Woo works, is from Malaysia.

It takes between three and eight hours for the fruit to get to Singapore from Malaysia, he said, depending on traffic conditions and how fast the suppliers can turn around orders.

Housewife Rosminah Said, 63, who was shopping at Agrobazaar Malaysia last week, said the texture of bananas from across the Causeway, for example, is better for cooking.

She uses the fruit to make pengat pisang, or banana stewed in coconut milk with palm sugar.

Officially opened last week by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Agrobazaar Malaysia, located at Sultan Gate off Beach Road, stocks authentic Malaysian produce, including fruit and groceries. It also has a cafe and rooftop restaurant.

Agrobazaar's assistant manager Anisah Amin said the 20 types of fruit it sells are sourced directly from farms in Malaysia and delivered to the store every two days to ensure freshness.

The bazaar serves as another source of Malaysian fruit for Singapore consumers. Retiree Chung Chee Keong, 85, who paid $29 (RM73) for a D24 durian at the store, said: "It's the real deal here; no need to be afraid of getting cheated." - The Straits Times/ANN