Palm oil remains top contributor as Malaysia’s agriculture sector expands 3.1pc in 2024
The strong performance of palm oil continues to be the main driver of growth in the country’s agricultural sector, which expanded 3.1 per cent in 2024 compared with 0.2 per cent in the previous year, according to the Selected Agricultural Indicators 2025 report released today by the Department of Statistics Malaysia. — Picture by Firdaus Latif
Friday, 26 Dec 2025 1:33 PM MYT
PUTRAJAYA, Dec 26 — The strong performance of palm oil continues to be the main driver of growth in the country’s agricultural sector, which expanded 3.1 per cent in 2024 compared with 0.2 per cent in the previous year, according to the Selected Agricultural Indicators 2025 report released today by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin stated that palm oil recorded a growth rate of 5.1 per cent in 2024, compared to 0.2 per cent in 2023, thereby contributing significantly to the value-added of the agricultural sector.
“Palm oil remains the largest contributor to the value added of the agricultural sector with a contribution of RM38.1 billion, or 36.8 per cent, followed by other agriculture segments at RM29.7 billion, or 28.7 per cent, while the livestock subsector recorded a contribution of RM17.4 billion, or 16.9 per cent,” he said in a statement here today.
Commenting on agricultural production performance, Mohd Uzir stated that the production of fresh fruit bunches (palm oil) recorded the highest volume among agricultural commodities, at 100,163.5 metric tonnes, representing a 5.5 per cent increase compared to the previous year. “The highest increase in production was recorded by cocoa beans at 33.3 per cent, followed by selected vegetables (11.8 per cent), kenaf (dry stalks) (11.5 per cent), natural rubber (11.1 per cent), pepper (7.5 per cent), and selected fruits (4.5 per cent),” he said.
For the livestock subsector, Mohd Uzir noted that the number of chickens increased by 3.5 per cent to 327.3 million birds in 2024 compared with 316.2 million birds in 2023. Chicken meat production rose by 13.7 per cent, followed by beef and buffalo meat at 9.6 per cent and fresh milk at 5.7 per cent.
He said brackishwater aquaculture production in 2024 declined by 0.4 per cent to 392,400 metric tonnes compared with the previous year, while marine fish landings and freshwater aquaculture production increased by 9.6 per cent and 5.7 per cent, respectively.
From a regional perspective, Mohd Uzir said that the contribution of the agricultural sector to gross domestic product (GDP) among Asean countries ranged from 0.03 to 20.8 per cent. “Myanmar recorded the highest contribution at 20.8 per cent, followed by Laos (16.8 per cent), Cambodia (16.6 per cent), Indonesia (12.6 per cent) and Vietnam (11.9 per cent). Malaysia, with a contribution of 8.2 per cent, ranked eighth out of ten Asean countries,” he said.
Mohd Uzir highlighted that the agricultural sector plays an important role in ensuring that the country’s food supply remains sufficient, while also contributing significantly to national income and export earnings.
“The total exports of agri-food and selected agricultural products increased from RM160.7 billion in 2023 to RM179.2 billion in 2024. At the same time, total imports rose to RM154.4 billion in 2024 compared with RM135.4 billion in 2023, with the country’s food imports amounting to RM93.8 billion in 2024,” he added. — Bernama
Palm Oil is an amazing cooking oil used by the food industry all over the world.
ReplyDeleteThe main Dark Cloud hanging over Palm Oil is the environmentally destructive methods being used (mainly in neighbouring Indonesia) to clear burn huge areas of deep jungle to plant Oil Palms.