| 20 August 2008 |
Ong Kung Wai & Jumat Majid |
| Although organic produce has secured market recognition in Malaysia, organic food production is still hampered by concerns raised by consumers about the authenticity of organic produce. This issue has been raised at public seminars, newspaper articles as well as Internet chat sites. Attempts by the private sector and the government to address the issue however have not been so fruitful to date. Organic food producers are burdened by the additional documentation, control procedures, expenses and fees which do not facilitate any additional market margin. Self-claimed organic products can similarly retail alongside certified products at up to 300% more than conventional produce. Responding to public and NGO demands, the Malaysian government published the National Organic Standards (MS1529) in 2001. The Department of Agriculture (DoA) later established an organic certification programme, Malaysian Organic Scheme (Skim Organik Malaysia - SOM) for the domestic market in December 2003. The scope of the certification programme, presently limited to crop production, is offered free of charge to farmers. Over 70 farmers have reportedly applied since 2004 but only 17 are certified so far. The DoA is working on expanding the scope of SOM to cover processing certification. Meanwhile operators can seek certification by foreign certification bodies (CBs) and a few did. Up to six foreign CBs operate in Malaysia, offering certification to the EU Regulation, U.S. National Organic Program (NOP) and Japan Agricultural Standards (JAS) as well as foreign private standards. Efficient and effective for exports, the certifications are relatively expensive and not suited for producers, processors and import-wholesalers targeting only the local market. Certification of imported final products is clearly marked as such on their respective product labels. Importing from all over the world, the Malaysian market is flooded with numerous certification marks, which wholesale and retail staff are not always able to explain correctly. Processors of imported certified bulk items often claim their repacked items are certified organic although their repacking operations are not certified. Even when they want to, processors of multi-ingredients from different countries and certification systems face difficulty in the choice of certification body unless they simplify their supply sources. The Organic Alliance Movement, OAM, comprising chief executive officers of major organic importers and wholesalers set up in 2002, has had mixed results in establishing a local certification programme, one of OAM’s founding objectives. Currently, OAM is working on domestic organic assurance program, promoting Malaysia common market mark and in alliance with certification bodies in Asia and Europe to offer certification service for organic exporters. The three programmes of OAM provide three solutions complementary to SOM for the organic sector in Malaysia namely a low cost domestic assurance, a common market identity and a one stop export certification service. Whilst SOM continues to provide its free service, medium to large operators, who can afford a fee based service, can register with the OAM domestic assurance programme, which will ease the waiting pressure on SOM. The growth of organic farming in Malaysia is manifested in the total land area of 2,367 hectares under organic management announced by DoA in April 2007, an 18 fold increase from 131 ha in 2001. Local production consists mainly of vegetables and fruits. There are unconfirmed reports of palm oil companies embarking on organic oil palm production and also self-claimed organic poultry production that are not included in the figures. Today there are up to a dozen organic wholesalers and about 200 organic retail outlets all over the country. Majority are concentrated around Kuala Lumpur, the capital city. Supermarkets have become the main distribution channel for organic products in the country. Large corporations and state agencies are showing investment interest as a number of pioneer organic companies have been bought over in the last 5 years. Sporadic seminars and fairs are being organised by NGOs, sometimes in collaboration with DoA. In the current 9th Malaysia Plan, the government projects the organic industry to be worth RM800 million [EUR 170.6 million] in five years. The Ministry of Agriculture plans to have 20,000 hectares under organic farming by year 2010, an eye-popping increase. While the challenges for organic farmers are still daunting, the organic food production industry in Malaysia fueled by government and private sector initiatives looks set to continue to grow. Sarawak Development Institute is organising a regional conference on Organic ASIA- The Way Forward on 28-31st October 2008 at Sarawak Cultural Village. Ong Kung Wai is a Board member of International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement (IFOAM). Further information on the conference is available at www.sdi.com.my or www.organic-asia.blogspot.com 3rd Voice is a regular feature initiated by AZAM and Sarawak Development Institute. Feedback can be sent to francis@azam.org.my. Source: AZAM |
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