SEBERANG JAYA: Malaysia has to step up the production of corn as the nation spends RM3.09 billion a year to import grain corn, Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Sim Tze Zin said today.
He said the amount spent annually to import grain corn, which served as the main source of animal feed formulation, had been increasing by 10 per cent every year.
“The dependency on the imported corn has reached almost 100%, creating risk and instability to the national livestock industry. The demand for grain corn alone is increasing globally and is expected to double by the year 2050.
“Our challenge to increase the corn production to meet future demand lies on research and development (R&D), governance and policy implementation,“ he said when opening the Asean Regional Corn Conference organised by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi) here.
He said the increased prices of chickens and eggs lately were closely related to the cost of buying grain corn for animal feed.
Sim said the government targeted to produce 1.44 million metric tonnes of grain corn, from 80,000 hectares, by the year 2032 despite the challenges of the global situation that are increasingly competitive, such as free trade, climate change and sustainable development goals.
He said that according to a Mardi report, which shared experience in the potential for grain corn in Malaysia, the quality of the grain corn planted in Seberang Perai was better compared to the imported grain corn.
“Studies on its nutrient composition and the growth performance of local broilers has shown no significant difference compared to the imported ones. Thus, I believe the input received from scientists, experts, international panellists and speakers from this conference will be utilised for the advancement of the grain corn industry at the national and regional level,“ he said.
The conference, for three days starting today, has drawn 250 participants from among scientists, experts, entrepreneurs and industry players from Malaysia, Mexico, Indonesia, Thailand, India, and the Philippines. — Bernama
