September 15, 2006

Malaysia issues more permits to import beef ahead of festive season

Malaysian authorities are issuing additional permits to import beef to ensure sufficient supply during the festive month of Ramadan, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Datuk Rohani Abdul Karim said Thursday (Sep 14).

Malaysia's current beef production could only meet 20 percent of demand.

Lack of quality stock, grazing land and skilled manpower were the factors hindering the development of domestic beef production, she said. 

Rohani said steps are being taken to increase beef output to meet 40 percent of the demand by 2015. These include sourcing for quality cattle and offering incentives to improve the competitiveness of the industry.