October 8, 2012

Malaysia's cattle import down due to recent price hike

Due to the recent cattle price hike, there was a sharp drop in the number of cattle imported into Malaysia through the Padang Besar checkpoint.

State Agriculture and Agro-based Industry and Cooperatives Committee chairman Sabry Ahmad said the increase of more than MYR1 (US$0.33) per kilogramme of a live cattle from the previous MYR7 (US$2.3) per kilogramme, could be the cause why there was a decline of more than 30% in the import of cattle.

Last year, the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services (Maqis) in Padang Besar recorded 13,309 cattle while as of last month, only 9,210 cattle were imported from Thailand. However, Sabry said the decline in the number would not affect the supply of cattle for Hari Raya Aidiladha.

"Based on previous years' records, about 3,000 cattle were needed during Hari Raya Qurban," he said.

Sabry, however, was not sure if the decline in imports was also recorded at the Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kedah and Rantau Panjang, Kelantan checkpoints. He said Perlis used to get most of its cattle from Australia.

"The increase in the Australian dollar's exchange rate is forcing us to get our supply from Thailand."

The price hike of more than MYR8 (US$2.6) per kilogramme was due to the floods in Thailand and the increase in commodity prices.

"Another reason to the decline could be due to our strict ruling where cattle brought in from Thailand would be quarantined for 30 days in Thailand before going through another 10-day quarantine here in Malaysia. This quarantine process would cost about MYR150 (US$49) for each cattle, which will receive a certificate with details on when the animal was quarantined and the vaccination it received. There have also been cases where traders tried to save some money but ended up losing more when the entire consignments of cattle were turned away. Every importer has to adhere to the rules. We will not compromise on this even if we have to sacrifice on the number of cattle that is brought in through our checkpoint in Padang Besar," said Sabry.

"We want to ensure that each cattle is safe for consumption. From our strict checks we discovered that out of more than 500, 180 cattle had either the foot-and-mouth or hoof-and-mouth diseases. These cattle came in three consignments in March, June and July and they were all sent back," he said.