Malaysia to provide more local meat choices

Malaysia will encourage the development of meat-based downstream industry to give option to the people to buy products made from locally-produced meat.

According to Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Noh Omar, such products could be offered at a much larger quantity and at a lower price. Among the products that could be developed from the downstream industry were meatballs, frankfurter and nuggets, he said.

Noh added that to increase the supply of local meat to support the industry, the government had started 71 satellite farm projects, each with the capacity of about 200 cows. The number of farms would be increase to 185 in the future, he said.

"These cows will be supplied to participants by a main supplier which will buy them back after a certain period," he said.

Noh noted that the government allocated MYR68 million (US$20.2 million) this year to develop the livestock industry.