Tanah Rata assemblyman Ho Chi Yang has raised alarm over a sharp surge in cheap Chinese vegetable imports, warning that the flood of produce is crippling Malaysian farmers and putting the nation's food security at risk.
He said Malaysia's vegetable imports from China rose from US$550 million (RM2.3 billion) in 2022 to US$882 million in 2024, marking an average annual increase of 26 percent. Ho argued that such a drastic rise could not be explained by domestic demand alone and suggested that it risks destabilizing the local market.
"The uncontrolled inflow of imported vegetables, regardless of type, inevitably risks distorting the supply-demand balance and severely undermining the livelihoods of local farmers," he said in a statement.
Farm-gate prices in Cameron Highlands have plunged to as low as RM0.50 to RM0.60 per kilogram for cucumbers and cabbages, leaving many farmers struggling to cover their costs, he pointed out. He noted that several crops, including cucumbers, tomatoes, spinach, eggplants and long beans, have already reached self-sufficiency ratios of over 100 percent.
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