The livestock industry in Malaysia is growing in importance. Due to lack of local production, the industry relies heavily on the import of raw feed ingredients such as maize, soyabean and other grains. Monogastric animals such as cattle and poultry (Figures 1 and 2), the main consumers of these feed grain, suffer high production cost (Dahlan, 1996). This is mainly due to the high importation cost of the raw feed ingredients. In 2010, Peninsular Malaysia imported RM 4.55 billion worth of feedstuff mainly maize (52%) and soyabean meal (23%) to meet the local demand (Abu Hassan, 2013). The high cost of feedstuff will increase the cost of production and in turn increase the price of animal products. Animal protein is a very important food source in the country and the demand keeps increasing annually.

Researcher: Noh Ahmad and Dr Mohd Din Amiruddin
Email: mohddin@mpob.gov.my