For an individual traveller, each is allowed to purchase a total of 5kg of chilled, frozen, processed or canned poultry from Malaysia.

Those travelling by car are entitled to bring back up to 10kg of the produce per car.

For seafood items, a traveller can bring up to 5kg per person and 2kg of frozen cooked crabmeat and prawns, provided the total weight of all items is less than 5kg per person.

Singapore Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), in a statement on Jan 9, said the restriction in quantity was to ensure a resilient supply of safe food and to safeguard the health of animals and plants.

Shoppers are also limited to buying up to 30 eggs per person to a maximum of 60 eggs per car from Malaysia.

"Only poultry is allowed to be purchased from Malaysia. Pork and beef bak kwa (barbecued meat) are not allowed.

"We want to ensure that food safety standards are not compromised and food-borne diseases are kept under control," the statement said.

The statement said travellers needed an import permit for items that are more than the permissible level. A penalty is imposed on those without a permit.

Those found guilty can be fined up to S$50,000 (RM113,500) or a jail term of two years or both under the Wholesale Meat and Fish Act.

Meanwhile, a check at wet markets here showed that sales had increased as Singaporeans celebrating the Chinese New Year had begun to stock up on food.

Fishmonger Ali Yakob, who operates a fish stall at the Pandan wholesale market, said Singaporeans came by the droves to buy seafood such as pomfret, seabass and prawns.

"We expect sales to be better when it is closer to the Chinese New Year. We anticipate the crowd to be bigger this weekend as it is the last before the festival," he said.

Chicken seller T.S. Lee said that there was no drop in demand, adding that a lot of Singaporeans prefer to buy fresh chicken from here, rather than buy frozen chicken in Singapore because they are not sure where the fowls are from.

                                                            Home