“We do not have (a high volume of) imports of agricultural products using that route, (not counting) the Ukraine-Russia conflict, which impacted our grain and corn imports.

“That route is mostly used for oil. We will monitor how the situation will impact us from time to time, which will become apparent in the next few weeks,” he told reporters at the ministry in Putrajaya today.

Earlier in his speech, Mohamad said the ministry would devise strategies to deal with the situation if it becomes a problem.

Yesterday, the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) urged businesses to depend more on Asean amid geopolitical uncertainties and attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

FMM president Soh Thian Lai said “nearshoring” and sourcing from Asean would save firms money and avoid any supply-chain issues caused by the Israel-Hamas war.

Last Friday, industry officials reported that US and UK air strikes on Yemen had increased container shipping rates on key global trade routes, including the Red Sea.

In response to Iran-backed Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, US and British warplanes, ships, and submarines launched dozens of strikes across Yemen, escalating the regional conflict beyond Israel’s war on Gaza.

Most containers avoided the nearby Suez Canal, which transports 12% of global trade between Asia and Europe. The US and UK forces advised ships to avoid the conflict zone entirely.