The importance of traceability and good health status within our pig sector has been a vital part of gaining access to Malaysia.
Southeast Asia offers significant opportunities for Irish agri-food products, most notably for dairy, beef, pigmeat and poultry.
For the short-term dairy, exports will continue to be the most significant product for Southeast Asia – dairy accounted for €63 million of exports to Malaysia, while for the Philippines, dairy exports were valued at €72.5 million in 2022.
Speaking to Agriland, Bord Bia chief executive officer (CE0) Jim O’Toole said: “For the short-term, it is very much a dairy focus, that is were demand is coming from in the market place.
“Developing relationships with customers that begin to understand what is available from Ireland. They see opportunities and therefore you can increase the footprint of business that is being done from Ireland,” he said.
Although currently not a focus, beef exports to Malaysia are still likely to become a focus in the future.
Health status
Access for pigmeat was gained in Malaysia late last year and as of August this year, 370t of Irish pork has reached the Malaysian market – with this expected to grow.
As much as 70% of Malaysians are Muslim and therefore do not consume pork. However, 23% of the Malaysians are ethnically Chinese, which helps to support demand.
Per capita consumption of pork is 17.3kg/yr, according to the Malaysian ministry. Domestic pigmeat production accounts for 90% of consumption and last year pigmeat imports reached 33,500t.
African Swine Fever (ASF) has had a role in aiding Irish pork entering Malaysian market last year.
Speaking to Agriland, O’Toole highlighted the role that investing in quality assurance, food safety, traceability and standards has had.
“Our island status or health status is something that is a big benefit to us; it is something of course that we have to work hard to preserve and keep those standards really high,” he explained.
“It is something that is very important in creating opportunities and building from them.”
Poultry
Malaysia is also a potentially significant market for duck meat, with discussion ongoing regarding certification of Irish produce.
Speaking about the potential of gaining access, O’Toole said: “The minister [Martin Heydon] had a meeting with his counterpart and there was technical discussions, there was a undertaking given by the Malaysian authorities that they would process that.
“It is now down to the technical wording on the health certificate that has to be finalised and there [were] commitments by the authorities here that they would progress that – which is a very positive development.”
Duck access could potentially be worth up to €10 million, with supply likely to start once approval has been achieved.
Export costs
The distance between Ireland and Southeast Asia is quite significant. Speaking about the cost of exporting goods these distances, O’Toole noted that the transactional cost of doing business is high.
However, he added that by increasing the scale of business, you can reduce that cost and if the trade becomes more stable, different arrangements can be agreed.
O’Toole said a key part of doing business in this part of the world is understanding the local distribution and having representation on the ground, to build a stable business relationship with co-investment.