November 11, 2025

 

Malaysia still relying on food imports even as local production improves, minister says

 

 

Malaysia remains heavily dependent on imported food despite improvements in local production, said the country's Agriculture and Food Security Minister, Mohamad Sabu.

 

Citing the Statistics Department's Self-Sufficiency Ratio (SSR) 2023 report, he said the self-sufficiency level stood at 56.2% for rice and 90.2% for chicken, reflecting slight declines from previous years.

 

"However, there were encouraging increases recorded for meat and fresh milk," he said.

 

On the other hand, the Import Dependency Ratio (IDR) for beef, buffalo meat, mutton, fresh milk, and certain vegetables showed a downward trend.

 

Datuk Seri Mohamad said import dependency remained high for rice, chicken and several types of vegetables, underlining the country's continued reliance on foreign food sources.

 

"These figures show that our dependence on imports is still significant, although the SSR for chicken, eggs, and vegetables has improved," he told the Dewan Rakyat, Malaysia's Parliament, on November 10.

 

He was responding to Aminolhuda Hassan, who had asked about the country's level of food security in the event of unforeseen circumstances such as restrictions on food imports, particularly for basic goods like rice, wheat, sugar, chicken, meat, milk, and vegetables.

 

Mohamad said the projected chicken production as at October 2025 was about 70.65 million birds, indicating a stable supply.

 

He added that Malaysia would continue importing certain raw materials and meat products through existing trade partnerships and memorandums of understanding with other countries.

 

He said the government was intensifying efforts to boost cattle breeding and ruminant development programmes, with a target of achieving 50% self-sufficiency in beef by 2030.

 

"At the same time, our dairy industry is expanding rapidly, especially under Farm Fresh and F&N, which operate large-scale dairy farms. We expect to reach self-sufficiency in milk production soon," he said.

 

Mohamad said Malaysia's aquaculture industry was also progressing steadily, with ongoing efforts to improve broodstock quality and farm productivity.

 

"We are moving towards a satisfactory level of self-sufficiency in aquaculture, though more effort is needed to strengthen it further," he added.

 

- The Star