A rice harvester in action at a padi field in Kampung Pada Telela in Perlis.
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s food industry has gone through another year of trade deficits in 2022, as imports of food products far exceeded the country’s exports to other markets.
In 2022, the food trade deficit increased to RM31bil, on the back of RM75.6bil in imports and exports of RM44.6bil.
According to the Malaysia Trade Statistic Review 2023 (MTSR 2023) , the country’s total food trade surged by 31.8% or RM29bil in 2022, reaching a total value of RM120.2bil compared with the previous year.
The strong growth was primarily driven by imports.
In a statement last Friday, the Statistics Department said MTSR 2023 presented a comprehensive overview and thorough information on the performance of the country’s food industry based on selected products to offer beneficial information for the users to get a more holistic picture of the economy.
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said MTSR 2023 reported the performance of the food industry in Malaysia and its relationship with other relevant statistical indicators.
“The edition focused on food, particularly the food-processing sector, fruits, meat and dairy products, chillies and coffee,” he said.According to Mohd Uzir, the food-processing industry is a cornerstone of economic growth, contributing 1.6% to gross domestic product (GDP) with RM28.1bil of value added in the manufacturing sector in 2022.
Notably, Malaysia’s trade of fruit improved greatly from just RM427.8mil in 1990 to RM6.1bil in 2022.
The meat sector experienced growth with exports of beef increasing from RM11.1mil in 2020 to RM21.3mil in 2022.
As the consumption of dairy products exceeded local production, he said the government had implemented various efforts and initiatives to ensure a continuous and affordable supply, including importing.
“The increase in yield from local chilli fertigation cultivation technology could reduce dependence on imports.
“Malaysia exported coffee and coffee substitutes, with a value of RM1.2bil in 2012, increasing to RM2.4bil in 2022,” he added.
Mohd Uzir explained that the increase in imports compared with the exports of food products had led to an increase in the trade deficit amounting to RM31bil in 2022.
According to the Statistics Department, for the past 32 years, the trend of exports and imports in Malaysia’s food sector had been uncertain, with the highest export growth recorded in 2008 at 20.6%, and a peak in import growth observed last year at 41.3%.
Singapore remained the main destination country with a 19.1% contribution to Malaysia’s total food exports last year.
China, meanwhile, was the second -biggest destination for food exports with a value of RM5.6bil.
The main country of origin for Malaysia’s food imports in 2022 was dominated by China, accounting for RM8.7bil or 11.5% of food imports, followed by Argentina at RM7.9bil and Thailand at RM7bil.
According to the Statistics Department, food security is an important aspect of people’s well-being and is always a major agenda at the global level.
The department added that the National Food Security Policy 2021 to 2025 was introduced for the purpose of increasing internal resources, and at the same time diversifying import sources to ensure the country’s preparedness in facing any food-security crisis.
“In this regard, free-trade agreements may contribute to strengthening value chain activities with trading partners to maintain the security of Malaysia’s staple food and other crops,” it said.
