KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 5): The government remains committed to strengthening the nation’s agrifood sector by driving higher production and exports of high-value commodities such as pineapples and durians, while narrowing the country’s food trade gap.

Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu said the move would not only boost the agrifood sector’s contribution to export earnings but also reduce the country’s reliance on food imports.

“Pineapples and durians are among the commodities showing significant growth. At Maha (Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism Show) recently, we signed an MOU on durian exports that is expected to generate more than RM1 billion in additional value, while pineapple exports have tripled over the past three years.

“In terms of exports, we are seeing the gap between imports and exports narrow as we increase exports of commodities such as pineapples and durians,” he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday.

He was responding to a supplementary question from Khoo Poay Tiong (PH-Kota Melaka) on the government’s targets to reduce food import values and the country’s reliance on imported food over the next five years.

Mohamad said efforts to strengthen local production also involved addressing price competition, particularly for locally grown vegetables competing with imported produce.

He said the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM) was taking measures through the Cost of Assurance (COA) mechanism to regulate imports of certain vegetables, particularly from China, to help local producers cope with price competition.

On efforts to boost the country’s food production capacity, Mohamad said KPKM would continue working with state governments to secure suitable land for agrifood activities.

He said almost all state governments had been cooperative in making suitable land available for various agrifood activities, including livestock farming, vegetable cultivation and grain corn production.

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