In its recent study, the brokerage said while Malaysia had made impressive progress over the years through various policy measures to address food security, much work needed to be done in order to ensure sustainable and equitable economic growth.
“If not managed well, these vulnerabilities could affect adequacy and pricing of food during period of shocks,” it added. These include agriculture land reform; greater use of technology to improve productivity in the agricultural sector; expanding domestic production especially on fertilisers and feedstocks; and incentivising quality investments in the agro-food sector.
TA Research said Malaysia’s heavy reliance on imported food made it vulnerable to fluctuations in the prices of these products globally. “Its fastest increase in imports compared to exports has led to a RM26.3bil trade deficit in food products in 2022,” TA Research said. “Several factors have contributed to Malaysia’s high dependence on imported food. One primary reason is the country’s limited arable land, making it challenging to produce enough food to meet the needs of its population.