We are already importing coconuts from Indonesia, tropical fruits from Thailand, vegetables from various countries and beef from Australia. The import bill keeps swelling every year, and little was done to help local planters and breeders expand their business.
Too much attention is given to solve our food issue in a simplest way - increase imports. Soon, we may have to import 'belacan'!
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And now, we have to import more strawberries from other countries, including India when we can grow it in a bigger scale in Cameron Highlands; if we are serious about it.
Our government is still too busy trying develop new entrepreneurs in agriculture by granting them grants and loans. We are over excited in small-scale farming and turned down good proposals how the country could move towards self-sufficient if we go big in the sector.
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We do things for political mileage and publicity, and not for the sake of helping the people and nation grow and prosper. Let's not mention the reason for big import - which makes certain individuals rich over limited APs.
Its really beyond comprehension. The best 'agri-joke' is that, we import quite a lot of food product from Singapore. We buy back what we sell to them!
If we take over about 54,000ha abandoned padi fields under an estate scheme (with profit sharing with the owners), I believe in 10 or 15 years from now, our import will shrink by more than 70 per cent (except for a certain type of rice).
Malaysia has vast land area for planters and breeders but we always prefer short cuts in solving our food issue. If 2 or 3 billion ringgit is spent each year to help our planters, breeders and fishermen improve their farming, breeding technique and catch, imagine the amount of money we could save in a long run.
Raw materials such as cereals and dairy products continued to be imported for further processing. Total processed food contributed about RM14.2 billion in 2013.
The main exports were cocoa and cocoa preparations (RM3.2 billion), cereal and cereal preparations (RM1.8 billion), dairy products (RM957.4 million), sugar & sugar confectionery (RM893.8 million) and prepared/preserved vegetables & fruits (RM578.1 million). Malaysia exported food products to more than 200 countries.
Major export destinations were Singapore, Indonesia, the USA, Thailand and Republic of China.
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Malaysia is currently the largest cocoa processor in Asia. Although Malaysia is the world’s fifth largest cocoa producer, local cocoa bean production could not support the huge demand from local grinding and processing industry. Most of the cocoa beans are imported.
Malaysia is also a major producer of spice, being the world's sixth largest exporter of pepper and pepper-related products (specialty peppers, processed pepper and pepper sauces). Other spices such as coriander, turmeric, lemongrass, cinnamon, clove and fennel are also produced.
Agriculture is one of the sectors identified in the National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs).
Malaysia’s food manufacturer can contemplate joint-ventures with established food manufacturer’s particularly from Australia and New Zealand to service the ASEAN, Middle East, European and US markets which have sizeable Muslim populations. Local halal food products can gain easy access into these halal markets as Malaysia’s halal certification is globally recognised.
Our food trade deficit has grown over the years. The El Nino phenomenon last year has drawn attention to Malaysia’s food security situation, as noted by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food.
“It could be cheaper to import, but what if the countries we buy from face shortages? They may sell less and we will be in trouble,” he said.
After the rice crisis of 2008, the Government increased its national stockpile from 92,000 metric tonnes to 292,000 metric tonnes.
In 2012, Malaysian produced 1.68mil tonnes of rice and imported 1.01mil tonnes, placing the country at the self-sufficiency level of 62.4%.
So, will the import bill grow this year, and until when? Its good to inch towards a fully-develop nation status by the year 2020 but we cannot waste too much money on food import when we can develop and enhance it here.
Of course we also need to enhance our industrialisation program but without savings on unnecessary food imports, the rakyat will need multiple income to sustain their survival on food alone. Unless the government gives strong emphasis, sooner may end up importing 'belacan' and 'budu'!
Too much attention is given to solve our food issue in a simplest way - increase imports. Soon, we may have to import 'belacan'!
And now, we have to import more strawberries from other countries, including India when we can grow it in a bigger scale in Cameron Highlands; if we are serious about it.
NEW DELHI, Dec 10 (Bernama) -- Indian strawberry growers in the Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani belt of Maharashtra state, are gearing up to increase their exports to Malaysia this season amid higher demand, The Financial Express reported.Some may contest of 'quality and varieties' but with good R & D, we can easily beat or match Indian strawberry and fruits from Thailand. What was Thailand 20 years ago? They were once an importing nation but they managed to emerge as one of the world's tropical fruit exporters.
Last year, four consignments were sent to Malaysia on a trial basis.
This season, the Strawberries Growers Association plans to send around 25 tonnes of strawberries to Malaysia, its Chairman, Balasabe Bhilare was quoted as saying by the English daily.
The Panchgani-Mahabaleshwar belt contributes around 85 per cent of the total production in India. The rest come from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Our government is still too busy trying develop new entrepreneurs in agriculture by granting them grants and loans. We are over excited in small-scale farming and turned down good proposals how the country could move towards self-sufficient if we go big in the sector.
We do things for political mileage and publicity, and not for the sake of helping the people and nation grow and prosper. Let's not mention the reason for big import - which makes certain individuals rich over limited APs.
Its really beyond comprehension. The best 'agri-joke' is that, we import quite a lot of food product from Singapore. We buy back what we sell to them!
Malaysia is said to be producing all the chicken, egg and pork supply we need for our population. So, why on earth is the media reporting that we have imported chickens from China?We keep doing things for politics. We forgot the fact that more and more padi fields are being abandoned.
Livestock industry players have been reported to have called to the government to stop an incoming batch of chicken consignments from China as reported in an English daily.
On April 27, 2013 it was also reported that the Department of Veterinary Services figures showed that Malaysia imports between 20,000 and 22,000 tonnes of frozen deboned chicken annually from two major plants based in Shandong. This accounts for around 65% of the country’s annual imports of frozen deboned chicken, with the rest coming from Thailand and the European Union.
Livestock producers have also mentioned that they are producing 120% of the poultry market demand locally.
If we take over about 54,000ha abandoned padi fields under an estate scheme (with profit sharing with the owners), I believe in 10 or 15 years from now, our import will shrink by more than 70 per cent (except for a certain type of rice).
Malaysia has vast land area for planters and breeders but we always prefer short cuts in solving our food issue. If 2 or 3 billion ringgit is spent each year to help our planters, breeders and fishermen improve their farming, breeding technique and catch, imagine the amount of money we could save in a long run.
Raw materials such as cereals and dairy products continued to be imported for further processing. Total processed food contributed about RM14.2 billion in 2013.
The main exports were cocoa and cocoa preparations (RM3.2 billion), cereal and cereal preparations (RM1.8 billion), dairy products (RM957.4 million), sugar & sugar confectionery (RM893.8 million) and prepared/preserved vegetables & fruits (RM578.1 million). Malaysia exported food products to more than 200 countries.
Major export destinations were Singapore, Indonesia, the USA, Thailand and Republic of China.
The Malaysian food industry is dominated by small and medium scale companies. The major sub-sectors are the fish and fish products, livestock and livestock products, fruits, vegetables and cocoa.In the fruits sub-sector, besides the common fruits such as mango, starfruit and papaya, the cultivation of pittaya (dragon fruit) is gaining interest among farmers. Most of these fruits are for fresh consumption in the domestic market.
The fisheries product’s sub-sector includes processed seafood products such as frozen and canned fish, crustaceans and molluscs, surimi and surimi products. This sub-sector is export oriented and remains the main contributor to the exports of processed food.
Malaysia is the third largest producer of poultry meat in the Asia Pacific region. Malaysia is self-sufficient in poultry, pork and eggs, but imports about 80% of its beef requirements. Among the dairy products produced are milk powder, sweetened condensed milk, pasteurized or sterilized liquid milk, ice cream, yoghurt and other fermented milk.
Malaysia is currently the largest cocoa processor in Asia. Although Malaysia is the world’s fifth largest cocoa producer, local cocoa bean production could not support the huge demand from local grinding and processing industry. Most of the cocoa beans are imported.
Malaysia is also a major producer of spice, being the world's sixth largest exporter of pepper and pepper-related products (specialty peppers, processed pepper and pepper sauces). Other spices such as coriander, turmeric, lemongrass, cinnamon, clove and fennel are also produced.
Agriculture is one of the sectors identified in the National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs).
It focuses on selected sub-sectors including aquaculture, seaweed farming, herbal products, fruits and vegetables and premium processed food which have high-growth potential. There is a growing demand for these high value products which provide opportunities for farmers to increase their income. In addition, the paddy and livestock sub-sectors were also selected due to their strategic nature in ensuring national food security.The halal industry in Malaysia provides immense opportunities for Malaysian manufacturers. It was estimated that the potential value of the halal food industry range between USD600 billion and USD2.1 trillion. The concept of halal is associated with food products which are of high quality in terms of cleanliness, sanitation and compliance with religious requirements.
Increasing consumer awareness in nutrition value and food fortification for healthcare has created the demand for functional/healthy minimally processed fresh food, organic food and natural food flavours from plants and seafood. Functional/health food produced in Malaysia is mainly in the form of food products that are enriched. Food ingredients such as customised formulations required by food manufacturers, natural food additives and flavours have the potential for further growth.
Malaysia’s food manufacturer can contemplate joint-ventures with established food manufacturer’s particularly from Australia and New Zealand to service the ASEAN, Middle East, European and US markets which have sizeable Muslim populations. Local halal food products can gain easy access into these halal markets as Malaysia’s halal certification is globally recognised.
Our food trade deficit has grown over the years. The El Nino phenomenon last year has drawn attention to Malaysia’s food security situation, as noted by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food.
In his report, Oliver De Schutter pointed out that Malaysia’s food trade deficit had grown from RM1bil in 1990 to RM13bil in 2013. He said Malaysia was not self-sufficient in the production of rice, fruits, vegetables, beef, mutton and milk.
De Schutter warned that the focus on export-led commodity production made Malaysia vulnerable to price shocks in the international markets as the country depended on imports for basic food staples.Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) deputy president Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah said due attention had not been given to food security in Malaysia’s development plans.
Padi growing expert and rice consultant Ho Nai Kin said Malaysia should work towards self-sufficiency.
“Good land is being used for non-agricultural purposes,” he pointed out. “No amount of money spent can make a difference unless we use our natural resources constructively.”
Consumer groups blamed the Government for not being concerned about ensuring food security, especially the supply of rice.
Consumers Association of Penang president SM Mohamed Idris said Malaysia should not depend on imports.
“Rather than blame environmental problems, we should encourage padi farming,” he said.
“It could be cheaper to import, but what if the countries we buy from face shortages? They may sell less and we will be in trouble,” he said.
After the rice crisis of 2008, the Government increased its national stockpile from 92,000 metric tonnes to 292,000 metric tonnes.
In 2012, Malaysian produced 1.68mil tonnes of rice and imported 1.01mil tonnes, placing the country at the self-sufficiency level of 62.4%.
So, will the import bill grow this year, and until when? Its good to inch towards a fully-develop nation status by the year 2020 but we cannot waste too much money on food import when we can develop and enhance it here.
Of course we also need to enhance our industrialisation program but without savings on unnecessary food imports, the rakyat will need multiple income to sustain their survival on food alone. Unless the government gives strong emphasis, sooner may end up importing 'belacan' and 'budu'!