Deputy Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Ahmad Hamzah said that based on the national food production rate, the country could produce 90% of its needs for poultry, eggs as well as fish.

He said the country had reached a self-sufficiency level of more than 100% for local fruits and vegetables, except for mangoes, coconuts, cabbage, chillies and ginger.

“However, Malaysia still depends on imports for some other food items such as beef, rice, as well as vegetables and fruits from temperate climates, such as cabbage, onions, apples and oranges to meet domestic demand,” he said.

He was answering Ahmad Nazlan Idris (BN-Jerantut) who wanted to know the capability of the country in ensuring the country’s food supply would not be curtailed, to protect food security.

Ahmad Hamzah said the ministry had also identified several new directions in the agriculture sector, including the rice, crop and livestock and fisheries industries for the next five years.

He said this would involve optimising land use and increasing the application of modern technology as well as developing high-value vegetable and fruit commodities, both for domestic use and for export.

In addition, the ministry was increasing meat and milk production through the establishment of the National Ruminant Board for the livestock industry and increasing milk production through dairy pilot projects in five dairy valleys, he said.

Ahmad Hamzah said the ministry was also in the final stages of preparing the National Agrofood Policy 2.0 aimed at a sustainable agro-food sector from 2021 to 2030.

Answering a question from Sim Tze Tzin (PH-Bayan Baru), he said the ministry had made some improvements to ensure that imported food products were free of plant diseases and pests.

He said the ministry obtained confirmation from two parties before receiving imported goods.