Singapore - Cambodia Agree on Rice, Food Security is Increasingly Protected

JAKARTA - Singapore and Cambodia signed a rice trade agreement on April 10 to strengthen food security and bilateral rice trade, while avoiding unnecessary trade restrictions between the two countries.

Quoting The Straits Times, Friday, April 10, based on the memorandum of cooperation, the Cambodian government will support the sale of rice to Singapore with mutually agreed terms, if requested by the Singapore government. The provision was conveyed by the Singapore Ministry of Sustainability and Environment (MSE) in its statement.

This is the third rice trade agreement signed by Singapore in recent months, following similar agreements with Vietnam and Thailand by the end of 2025.

The agreement was signed by Singapore's Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Minister for Trade Relations Grace Fu and Cambodian Trade Minister Cham Nimul.

Grace Fu said that ongoing geopolitical tensions increase the risk of disruptions in global food supplies. According to Fu, the signing of this memorandum of cooperation is mutually beneficial and confirms the close cooperation between the two countries in strengthening bilateral food trade and food security.

This agreement was signed three days after Singapore's National Security Coordinating Minister K. Shanmugam said in parliament that Singaporeans need to be prepared if some food ingredients from a number of countries are not available amid the Middle East conflict. He also asked the public to be more flexible in choosing alternatives.

Singaporeans have previously been urged to prepare for rising food and electricity prices.

Since 2025, Singapore has indeed signed a number of agreements with several countries to maintain food supplies and strengthen trade during disruptions. Still referring to The Straits Times, this step is part of the city-state's new efforts to strengthen food security.

Since Singapore imports more than 90 percent of its food needs, some of these agreements provide assurances that there will be no trade restrictions on certain food ingredients.

In addition to Cambodia, Singapore has also entered into an agreement with New Zealand regarding staple food in October 2025. Singapore is currently also exploring the establishment of an agrotechnology-based food area with Brunei.

MSE stated that Singapore will continue to explore mutually beneficial agreements with like-minded countries to strengthen its food supply resilience.