KL injects $116m into govt firm to boost food security

KUALA LUMPUR • Malaysia's Rural Development Minister Mahdzir Khalid has announced an allocation of RM368 million (S$116 million) to government-owned Felcra in a bid to strengthen the country's food security at all levels of the food chain, reported Bernama news agency.

Datuk Seri Mahdzir said on Friday that RM339 million would be used to improve infrastructure, cover the costs of raw materials and upgrade technology, while the rest would be used for internal spending.

Another RM60 million from the 12th Malaysia Plan and Rolling Plan 2022 would be used to expand the capacity of a livestock feed processing plant in Rompin, Pahang.

The project would optimise the basic ingredients for local animal feed, Bernama reported Mr Mahdzir as saying.

Felcra is a plantation and food production company operating oil palm estates and palm processing mills, rice and rubber plantations, along with fertiliser and other food-related factories.

The company was formerly a government agency called the Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (Felcra). The company is wholly owned by the Minister of Finance Inc.

Referring to the processing plant, Mr Mahdzir said: "The project has been implemented and is under way. This initiative is one of the measures to address the rising cost of livestock, so Felcra took this approach to boost production of livestock feed."

Last week,Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced a ban on chicken exports to stabilise domestic prices and supplies.

One of the complaints poultry farmers have raised is the rising prices of grains used to feed chickens, which were partially worsened by the war in Ukraine - a major exporter of grain-based feed.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK