PETALING JAYA: The strong performance of palm oil continues to be the main driver of growth in the country’s agricultural sector, which expanded 3.1% in 2024 compared with 0.2% in the previous year, according to the Selected Agricultural Indicators 2025 report released today by the Department of Statistics Malaysia.
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin stated that palm oil recorded a growth rate of 5.1% in 2024, compared to 0.2% 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%, followed by other agriculture segments at RM29.7 billion, or 28.7%, while the livestock subsector recorded a contribution of RM17.4 billion, or 16.9%,” he said.
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% increase compared to the previous year. “The highest increase in production was recorded by cocoa beans at 33.3%, followed by selected vegetables (11.8%), kenaf (dry stalks) (11.5%), natural rubber (11.1%), pepper (7.5%), and selected fruits (4.5%),” he said.
For the livestock subsector, Mohd Uzir noted that the number of chickens increased by 3.5% to 327.3 million birds in 2024 compared with 316.2 million birds in 2023. Chicken meat production rose by 13.7%, followed by beef and buffalo meat at 9.6% and fresh milk at 5.7%.
He said brackishwater aquaculture production in 2024 declined by 0.4% to 392,400 metric tonnes compared with the previous year, while marine fish landings and freshwater aquaculture production increased by 9.6% and 5.7%, respectively.
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
