By Faridat Salifu
Farmers in Cameron Highlands have renewed calls for the Malaysian government to tighten controls on vegetable imports, warning that the growing influx of cheaper produce from abroad is crippling local growers.
The Cameron Highlands Vegetable Growers Association said imported vegetables, particularly from China, continue to enter the market freely without tariffs or duties, making it nearly impossible for local farmers to compete.
“At the farm gate, prices are often just 50 or 60 sen per kilo, and cheap imports make it worse,” said the association’s secretary, Chay Ee Mong, who also serves as deputy chairman of the Federation of Malaysian Vegetable Farmers’ Associations.
He urged the government to introduce measures in the upcoming federal budget that could ease pressure on local producers, including the reinstatement of a past incentive scheme, higher diesel subsidies, and reduced land rental fees.
“In 2009, the government provided RM81 in cash aid for every tonne of vegetables produced,” Chay said, adding that the association is now calling for the payout to be revived and raised to RM120 per tonne.
He explained that farmers’ operational costs from fertilisers and pesticides to labour and mandatory contributions to the Employees’ Provident Fund and Social Security Organisation had risen sharply in recent years.
“The RM200 monthly diesel subsidy we receive is not enough,” he added. “Diesel is needed not just for vehicles but also for generators that power farms.”
Chay also said the current subsidy structure only benefits small-scale farmers earning below RM300,000 annually, excluding many commercial growers who are struggling with the same high costs.
He appealed for the eligibility ceiling to be raised to RM1 million and for Pahang state authorities to review annual land rental rates of RM4,500 per acre, which he described as excessive given weak farm-gate prices.
Food security expert Fatimah Arshad from Universiti Pertanian Malaysia backed the call for tighter border controls, warning that Malaysia’s growing reliance on food imports is undermining local agriculture.
“Imports of fruits, chillies, vegetables and meat from countries like China, India and Vietnam are cheaper, and this continuous influx has weakened domestic industries,” she said.
She noted that Malaysia is now a net importer of nearly all major food commodities except poultry and eggs, with self-sufficiency levels for rice, fish and meat declining since the 1990s.
Fatimah cautioned that heavy dependence on imported food leaves the country vulnerable to global supply disruptions and rising prices.
She urged the government to move beyond short-term subsidies by improving farm productivity and investing in digital and climate-smart agriculture.
“Targeted subsidies can reduce spending burdens but over time they distort markets,” she said. “The only sustainable solution is to raise local farming capacity through modernisation.”
Fatimah also called for pilot nutritious school meal programmes, wider use of digital subsidy systems, and stronger cooperative models to counter monopolies in the food chain.
“If we want a secure food system, we must invest in research, innovation and farmer cooperatives that protect both producers and consumers,” she said.
