Malaysia. Corn Annual. Feb 2015 March 11, 2015

Improved living standards and more middle income earners in urban areas lead to modest growth in demand for pork, bread and poultry products. This contributed to marginal increase in demand for corn and wheat. Limited growth is expected on corn imports as demand for pork is stagnant and poultry sector is only growing slowly.

The implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in April 2015 and the depreciation of Malaysian currency relative to other major currencies will likely to dampen any increment in demand for corn and wheat.

Argentina and Brazil remain the major suppliers of corn controlling over 70 percent. Import of DDGs and Corn Gluten Meal from the US were 46,000 tons and 36,000 tons respectively in 2014.

Beginning 1st January 2015, corn importers are required to obtain import approvals from both the Department of Veterinary Services and Department of Agriculture and also provide a phytosanitary certificate from the exporting country.

Under the Feed Law, importers are required to apply for import license from the Department of Veterinary Services. The import license required the importers to provide:

1- Certificate of Origin

2- Certified composition by a competent agency of exporting country.

3- Relevant packaging, manufacturing and labelling requirement.

4- Import registration.

Corn S&D

Corn imports are forecast to grow modestly to 3.5 million tons in 2014/15 and then slight growth again in 2015/16. For the current marketing year, uncertainties on the implementation of GST and steep depreciation of Malaysian currency are leading poultry integrators to be cautious on expansion. Although demand for poultry and pork remains firm, consumers may be cautious as the price of pork and chicken parts are subjected to GST. Only dressed whole chicken is exempt from GST.

Brazil was the largest supplier in the previous marketing year, with over 40 percent market share, followed by Argentina and India. Even though local importers often cite quality concerns about Indian corn, local importers still opt to buy it due to low price. For U.S. corn, most local importers continue to assert that U.S. corn's high moisture prevents imports.

To address this perception, in 2015 Post is offering a course under the Cochrane Fellowship Program for grain storage personnel to undertake grain storage management course.

In terms of import requirements, in addition to an import permit and phytosanitary certificate, and registration under the Feed Act, genetically engineered imported corn for feed and industrial use is supposed to be approved by the National Biosafety Committee in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. However, only a few corn events have been approved.

Corn Imports: