This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on April 3, 2020

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia Dry Foodstuff Importers and Exporters Association (MDFIEA) has urged the government to prioritise domestic food supply security to ensure adequate food supply to Malaysians.

MDFIEA chairman Datuk Seri Chuah Poh Khiang said the pandemic is starting to cause disruption in major food supply countries such as China, India, Pakistan and Thailand which Malaysia is heavily reliant on.

Most of the countries may inevitably restrict food exports, he said in a phone interview with The Edge Financial Daily.

In terms of the dry food supply situation, he said: “The current supply is ample for at least two months. However, we urge the government to plan ahead to prevent unwanted consequences.”

“The top priority of the government now is to enhance the efficiency of food import and act fast to formulate necessary measures, to ensure our domestic food supply will not be interrupted in the short to medium term,” he added.

Chuah said some major manufacturers have decided to raise prices of staples such as sugar for whatsoever reason. Stressing that this might cause implications to wholesalers and retailers, he urged the government to take necessary measures to prevent any opportunistic behaviour.

Chuah also said some major food conglomerate manufacturers are running short of auxiliary items, including packaging materials, that could have affected the manufacturing process and caused further pressure on food supply.

In view of the situation, MDFIEA has made several suggestions to the government, including prioritising importation and production of staple foods that are in strong demand; providing adequate assistance to local farmers to improve domestic agricultural production; optimising and simplifying food importation procedures; and proactively holding discussions with major food-sourcing countries.

Besides that, the association has advised the government to restrict people from hoarding food to avoid a shortage of food supply and food price hike; and improve the efficiency of food logistics and storage capacity to reduce unnecessary wastage due to spoilage.

“The government needs a comprehensive long-term plan to solve the dilemma of insufficient domestic food supply,” it added.

Chuah also urged the government to consider opening up more agriculture and undeveloped land for agro-food planting, as well as providing subsidies to encourage local farmers to cultivate vegetables and staple foods.

This, he said, is because the heavy reliance on food imports is a long overdue issue in Malaysia, due to certain structural problems, such as lack of agricultural land to produce food, inadequate local production to meet domestic needs, local climate issue, low efficiency and high prices of local agricultural products.