Food Industry
Malaysia's food industry is as diverse as the multi-cultures of Malaysia, with a wide range of processed food with Asian tastes.
In 2008, the food processing industry contributed about 10% of Malaysia's manufacturing output and companies in this industry are predominantly Malaysian-owned.
It is estimated that the present global retail sales in food products are worth around US$3.5 trillion, and are expected to grow at an annual rate of 4.8 per cent to US$6.4 trillion by 2020.
Malaysia remains a net importer of food. In 2008, Malaysia's food exports amounted to RM17.9 billion, while imports totalled RM28 billion.
Malaysia exported food products to more than 200 countries and the main products exported were cocoa (RM3 billion), fisheries products (RM 2.5 billion), margarine and shortening (RM 2.4 billion) and animal feed (RM1.2 billion).
Major food imports in 2008 were cereal and cereal preparations, cocoa, vegetables and fruits, dairy products and animal feed. Raw materials such as cereals and dairy products will continue to be imported for further processing for human consumption as well as for the production of animal feed.
In Malaysia, the food industry is dominated by small and medium scale companies. The major sub-sectors are fish and fish products, livestock and livestock products, fruits, vegetables and cocoa.
The fisheries product's sub-sector includes processed seafood products such as frozen and canned fish, crustaceans and molluscs, surimi and surimi products. This sub-sector remained the main contributor to the exports of processed food.
In the livestock sub-sector, Malaysia is the third largest producer of poultry meat in the Asia Pacific region. Malaysia is self sufficient in poultry, pork and eggs, but imports about 80% of its beef requirements.
Among the dairy products produced are milk powder, sweetened condensed milk, pasteurized or sterilized liquid milk, ice cream, yoghurt and other fermented milk.
Currently, Malaysia is the largest cocoa processor in Asia and ranks fifth in the world. However, most of the cocoa beans are imported. Malaysia is also one of the world major producers of spices.
In 2008, Malaysia's was ranked as the fifth largest exporter of pepper and pepper-related products (specialty pepper, processed pepper and pepper sauces).
In the Ninth Malaysia Plan, the production of fruits and vegetables is targeted to reach 2.56 million tonnes and 1.13 million tonnes, respectively, by 2010. Vegetables are mainly grown on a small scale for fresh consumption, and are exported mainly to Singapore. The major locations for the cultivation of vegetables are in Johor, Pahang, Kelantan and Perak.
In the fruits sub-sector, besides mangos, starfruits and papayas, the cultivation of pittaya (dragon fruit) is gaining interest among farmers. Most of these fruits are to cater for the domestic market.
Increasing consumer awareness in nutrition value and food fortification for healthcare has created the demand for functional/healthy, minimally processed fresh food, organic food and natural food flavours from plants and seafood.
Functional/health food produced in Malaysia is mainly in the form of food products that are enriched. Food ingredients such as customised formulations required by food manufacturers, natural food additives and flavours have the potential for further growth.
The halal industry in Malaysia provides immense opportunities for Malaysian manufacturers. With a global Muslim population of about 2 billion, the market for halal food is estimated at US$547 billion a year.
The concept of halal is associated with food products which are of high quality in terms of cleanliness, sanitation and compliance with religious requirements.
Malaysia's food manufacturer can contemplate joint-ventures with established food manufacturer's, particularly from Australia and New Zealand, to service the ASEAN, Middle East, European and US markets which have sizeable Muslim populations.
Local halal food products can gain easy access into these halal markets as Malaysia's halal certification is globally recognised.
Sumber :
http://www.mida.gov.my/en_v2/index.php?page=food-industries
