Govt discusses measures to tackle glut of imported vegetables hurting local farmers

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 — The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS) is in discussions with the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) to find effective measures to address the glut of imported vegetables, which is affecting local producers.

Its minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu said the discussions also took into account the implementation of the requirement to submit a Certificate of Analysis (CoA), which became mandatory on June 1, 2026, although some views held that the measure was still insufficient.

“We have brought this matter up for discussion at the food security level, and we are analysing what new measures need to be introduced to protect the position of vegetable growers in Malaysia, as well as those involved in fruit production,” he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was responding to a supplementary question from Wong Shu Qi (PH-Kluang) on the need for imported vegetables and fruits to obtain good agricultural practices certification equivalent to Malaysia Good Agricultural Practices Certification Scheme (myGAP), as well as measures to protect local farmers from competition with imported produce that is not subject to the same standards.

Mohamad said imported vegetables and fruits entering Malaysia were currently not required to have good agricultural practices certification equivalent to myGAP in their countries of origin, but remained subject to import requirements, including import permits, phytosanitary certificates issued by exporting countries and inspections by the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department (MAQIS).

He said commodities facing oversupply included chillies, cabbage, round cabbage, mustard greens, tomatoes and cucumbers, prompting complaints from local growers, including those in Cameron Highlands and Johor.

In response to Wong’s original question on the performance of myGAP certification since the introduction of e-myGAP in 2020, Mohamad said the system was introduced to shorten the certification period from two years to 90 working days without compromising compliance with Malaysian Standards (MS).

However, he said the timeframe depended on the farm’s level of readiness and the applicant’s compliance with all stipulated certification requirements.

Based on records, Mohamad said the number of applications increased from 2,507 in 2021 to 3,652 in 2025, while 3,282 applications were recorded for 2026 as of the reporting cut-off.

Of these, the number of applications successfully certified in less than 90 working days stood at 324 in 2021, 163 in 2022, 183 in 2023, 373 in 2024, 249 in 2025 and 206 in 2026.

However, he said most applications still took more than 90 working days to process, involving 2,097 applications in 2021, 1,895 in 2022, 3,277 in 2023, 2,967 in 2024 and 3,106 in 2025. This was partly due to the need to carry out corrective actions to address identified non-compliance.

Meanwhile, responding to a supplementary question from Nurul Amin Hamid (PN-Padang Terap) on market preference for myGAP-certified produce and guidance for smallholders, Mohamad said the Department of Agriculture would assist farm operators in obtaining certification once applications had been submitted.

He said the ministry had also asked the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) to intervene in marketing agricultural produce when oversupply caused selling prices to fall below production costs.

“This happens when, for example, the selling prices of chillies, okra or other crops fall too low, below production costs. We then ask Fama to intervene so that farmers and small-scale vegetable growers do not incur losses when there is an oversupply in the market,” he said. — Bernama