Malaysia Can Save RM1 Bln With Greater Livestock Feed Output

Malaysia could save RM1 billion in importing 800,000 tons of corn a year if livestock feed production could be increased domestically, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui said today.

Towards this end, he said, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) has set up the Energy and Protein Centre (EPC) and a plant to manufacture aquaculture and livestock feed.

The EPC creates quality livestock feed products such as MPOB-HIE - with high fat energy formulation for poultry breeding - and MPOB-Q-PKC - using palm kernel cake in aquaculture feed - and these contribute towards the development of both the oil palm and livestock industries, he noted.

"Local consumption of MPOB-HIE should be increased because, if its share of local livestock feed production of five million tonnes increases to eight percent, Malaysia can reduce its dependence on RM1 billion worth of imported corn," he told reporters after opening the MPOB Keratong complex at Muadzam Shah here.

Those present included Deputy Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Tan Mohd Aminuddin Ishak, MPOB chairman Datuk Sabri Ahmad and MPOB deputy director-general Datuk Dr Choo Yuen May.

Chin noted that currently 200,000 tones of crude palm oil is being used a year to produce livestock feed and said measures to diversify the use of palm products to replace imported items such as soybean and corn will save foreign exchange of almost RM2 million a year.

He was confident the EPC, which has research and development facilities as well as modern technology, will be fully utilised by the industry.