Food supplier calls for better quality control to ensure Malaysians not getting the short end of the stick
15 Apr 2021
GEORGE TOWN – Food prices in Malaysia, especially vegetables, may be rising, but instead of getting better produce, the higher grade crops are exported and locals are left with third-grade leftovers.
Vegetable supplier David Mariadass told The Vibes that, though Malaysia produces high-quality fresh produce, such as tomatoes, carrots, cabbages and turnips from Cameron Highlands, more than often than not, it is never consumed by Malaysians.
“We send our good produce over to Singapore. For example, when we export our best tomatoes to Singapore, they repackage them and export them to Europe.
“And, guess what? The sticker on the package says ‘Product of Singapore’!”
Now that Malaysia’s population has increased and development has taken over agricultural land, David worries that food shortages will cause the price of vegetables to skyrocket, hitting the most vulnerable groups worst.
“For example, countries like India do not export foodstuff if there is not enough supply for the people, but we still export our first-grade food, even when there is not enough for our population, and we import tomatoes, carrots, cabbages and turnips of substandard quality from China.
“We also import vegetables from Thailand, and those are cheap, but when there is a high demand, it will also hike up its prices, so who will lose out in the end?”
He said that Malaysia has good grade produce from Cameron Highlands, including various types of tomatoes that are not available here as they are all sent to the Middle East.
“Asparagus grown here costs us RM14 per kg, but the same asparagus exported from Malaysia is sold for US$20 (RM80).
“I think we need some quality control here. Food that is imported into our country must be quality food, and when there is not enough locally grown food for our people, we should stop exporting temporarily.
“Why are we not getting our locally grown produce at a cheaper price, but buying third-grade food at imported prices?”
However, according to Penang agriculture exco Hajah Norlela binti Ariffin, issues concerning the export of vegetables does not apply to Penang as its self-sufficient level (SSL) is only around 25%.
“I don’t know about Cameron Highlands as they have a lot more vegetables, but as for Penang, all the farmers are supplying to the local market, and yes, it is not enough.
“We have been having dialogues with farmers and meetings in the food industry task force, and that is why I am doing the farmer-to-farmer programme where we give urban farming kits to homes and encourage young people to dabble in vertical farming,” she told The Vibes.
“There is also the issue of land scarcity in Penang, and that is why we want to focus on not only urban farming but smart farming, which integrates technology so we can use less land to get higher yields.”