PUTRAJAYA, June 14 — The National Recovery Council (MPN) is of the view that there is an urgent need to strengthen the feed industry so that the country achieves a self-sufficiency level, and the cost of feed input is more manageable and not affected by external factors.
Its chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the country was facing the issue of rising chicken prices recently as almost 100 per cent of animal feed was imported, and supply disruptions in the global chain had caused prices to increase severalfold.
“That is why one of the solutions is, can Malaysia produce its own feed that does not depend on 100 per cent import from abroad?
“MPN is of the view that it may be appropriate for the government to review the import policy of animal feed, and put efforts for some of the materials produced in the country,” he said in a press conference here today.
Muhyiddin said the move required a policy decision, for example, at the level of government-linked companies (GLCs) which had land planted with oil palm, so that part of the area was used for maize cultivation, especially during the replanting period.
He said the move was seen as appropriate so that Malaysia would not be 100 per cent dependent, and be able to reduce animal feed imports in the future.
Muhyiddin added that the move also needed to be expedited, as the experience of dependence on feed supplies from abroad showed that it was an inaccurate policy.
He said 500 million coconuts were still being imported, while the country had old coconut plantations that could be redeveloped, as the need for coconut supply was increasing daily.
