Feeding the Future: Achieving Food Security in Malaysia Through Trade Mechanism

Author(s): Zaeidah Mohamed Esa, Prakash Santhanam, Jefiena Jaafar, Zaemah Zainuddin

DOI: doi.org/10.56527/jabm.11.2.3

Keywords: Food security, trade openness, comparative advantage, agriculture trade

Abstract: Malaysia’s food imports have almost doubled in 10 years, from RM35 billion to RM63 billion in 2021. In total, 26 food items have a self-sufficiency ratio (SSR) of 100% or above, according to the Supply and Utilization Accounts of Selected Agricultural Commodities, Malaysia, from the Department of Statistics (DOSM), but 24 other products still fall short of this mark. Moreover, Malaysia showed progress in the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) in 2021, moving up from the 48th rank (67.9 points) in 2020 to the 41st place (69.9 points) in 2022. Malaysia still has problems with food security, despite these encouraging signs. By employing a desktop research technique and secondary data from papers and publications, this concept paper seeks to investigate the landscape and trajectory of food security in Malaysia from 2017 to 2022. Further analysis is carried out on food security by focusing on the use of trade mechanisms in the four pillars of affordability, availability, quality and safety, sustainability, and adaptation. The analysis found that Malaysia faces several challenges in achieving food security, including increasing dependence on food imports, declining agricultural productivity, and income inequality. However, Malaysia has also made important strides toward enhancing food security, including diversifying its import sources, enhancing accessibility through price regulation, and intensifying its use of agricultural technologies.

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