U.S. pork exports to Malaysia have gained significant momentum in recent months, due in part to the impact of African swine fever on their domestic production and tightening supplies of European pork. While Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country, the non-Muslim portion of its population has a very strong appetite for pork.
In the past, Malaysia has maintained a cumbersome process for approving U.S. slaughtering plants, but as U.S. Meat Export Federation Director of Export Services Jim Remcheck explains, “progress has been made in this area.”
"Malaysia had requested to come do a physical audit of five pork facilities. They wanted a selection of five facilities to physically audit and then, if all five pork plants passed the audit, any future pork plants wanting to be registered for Malaysia could do so via a paper application process and not have to post a physical audit in order to become registered. So, in early 2024, another facility attempted to get registered. We were just told on Monday that this approval came through, so we think that it's a harbinger of good things to come," says Remcheck.
According to Remcheck, “USDA-FAS Kuala Lumpur also reported that now might be the right time to strike while the iron is hot and have more facilities submit applications. Ideally, we would love to have a systems-based approval for Malaysia and we wouldn't have to take part in this facility registration scheme that they have. But we will take this win because we are facing a lot of headwinds in terms of facility registrations all over the world."
Last year, U.S. pork exports to Malaysia reached 5,170 metric tons valued at $16.3 million – up more than 1,500% from 2022. Through May of this year, exports were about 50% above the 2023 pace, already topping $10 million in value.
Remcheck adds that USMEF is also working to gain eligibility for more U.S. beef facilities, but this is more complicated due to the halal aspect of Malaysia’s beef plant approval process.
"Because there's no halal aspect to the pork approvals, we are in a scenario in which we can do this paper process," Remcheck says. "When it comes to approving a beef facility, not only does the Malaysia Department of Veterinary Services need to be involved in the physical audit, their halal authority does as well. So that makes things a lot more complicated for beef."
EDITOR’S TAKE:
Expanding export markets is always welcome news, even if it comes with more complex approval processes. It is encouraging to hear that MEF and USDA are working hard to reduce barriers for U.S. meat products and to also identify new markets across the globe. U.S. – China tensions have severely reduced ag trade between the two countries, thus, making it even more urgent to cultivate new markets today. This will help improve the market for our pork producers, meaning more exports and more dollars coming in to be shared by pork producers. That ultimately could lead to more truck sales, especially if you keep putting your inventory on AgTruckTrader.com®. Rest assured that AgTT is dedicated to reaching farmers/ranchers in your area.
