The Malaysian government has indicated it will ban the sale of imported fresh produce in farmers' markets and National Agribusiness Terminals (Teman) in a bid to support domestic producers.
According to a report by Bernama, the regulations would take effect in 2015.
“I’ve discussed this with the Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority (Fama), and from 2015, all farmers’ markets and Teman outlets should source their vegetables locally,” said Agriculture and Agro-based Industry minister Datuk Seri Noh Omar.
He added that the move would benefit local growers and encourage further investment in the sector. “If we market products from outside, then all the efforts to set up farmers’ markets and Teman outlets would be rendered meaningless,” the news source quoted him as saying.
“At the moment, 40 per cent of vegetables sold at Teman outlets are from the neighbouring countries. These vegetables are also grown in our country, and that’s why from that year onward, we want vegetables which are available in the country to be sourced locally and sold at Teman outlets,” he explained.
The minister also outlined a project to bring together 2,000 farmers' market operators to run a contract farming operation.
