KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 — American red meat producers expect a surge in shipments to Malaysia, following the Malaysia-United States Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) that is set to ease long-standing restrictions on imported beef and pork.
The United States Meat Export Federation (USMEF) – which represents US beef and pork producers – said it anticipates US$50 million (RM208 million) to US$60 million (RM250 million) in annual beef exports to Malaysia once the bilateral trade pact is fully implemented. This suggests the US could newly capture between 8 and 10 per cent of Malaysia’s beef import market.
Joe Schuele, USMEF senior vice president of communications, told CodeBlue that although Malaysia imported nearly US$600 million (RM2.5 billion) in beef in the first eight months of this year, “almost none of this was sourced from the US.”
“If market access improvements for US beef and pork are implemented, the US industry will be better able to meet Malaysian consumers’ demand for high-quality red meat,” Schuele said in an email response.
Beyond beef, US pork exports to Malaysia peaked in 2024 at about US$25 million (RM104 million). “Exports have trended lower this year, but improved market access would give Malaysian importers a wider range of potential suppliers,” said Schuele, though he did not offer specific volume projections for pork.
In its 2024 annual report, USMEF president and chief executive Dan Halstrom described Malaysia as a “relatively new market” that nevertheless “contributed greatly” to the strong global performance of US pork last year. He cast Malaysia as part of a broader effort to reduce the industry’s reliance on major buyers like China, grouping it with Cuba as an emerging opportunity market that could help stabilise demand.
At the centre of the projected growth is a major regulatory shift. Malaysia will no longer conduct its own plant-by-plant approvals of US facilities and will instead recognise the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) directory as the official list of eligible exporters of meat, poultry and egg products.
The ART requires Malaysia to recognise US food safety, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures for meat, poultry, dairy and certain agricultural products, streamlining import eligibility by accepting US federal inspection directories and limiting Malaysia’s ability to impose additional approval requirements.
The agreement also commits Malaysia to adopting zone-based restrictions during animal disease outbreaks, such as African swine fever (ASF) and highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), reducing reliance on nationwide bans. US agricultural groups have publicly celebrated the deal as providing “unprecedented access” to the Malaysian market.
Despite the anticipated increase in US meat shipments, American producers do not expect US beef or pork to undercut local prices or regional imports.
“US red meat generally targets the higher end of the market, so price is not the primary selling point,” said Schuele. “Rather, importers appreciate the quality and consistency of US beef and pork.”
USMEF Says Malaysia’s Facility Approvals Are ‘Onerous’
USMEF offered direct criticism of Malaysia’s longstanding facility registration system overseen by the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS).
“Malaysia currently imposes onerous facility registration requirements that do nothing to enhance food safety or quality. These requirements have led many prospective US suppliers to lose interest in the market,” said Schuele.
“Simplifying these requirements and recognising all federally inspected US establishments as eligible will widen the field of potential suppliers and give Malaysian importers far more options from which to source products.”
The federation said Malaysian consumers could rely on the same oversight that governs meat sold in the US and in other countries that recognise the USDA’s regulatory system.
“Malaysian consumers will receive products from the same establishments that produce red meat for the domestic US market and for markets across the world that recognise the USDA’s ability to properly regulate and oversee processing plants,” said Schuele.
USMEF added that USDA-FSIS inspection processes are recognised internationally as capable of ensuring the safety and quality of US red meat products even during animal-disease outbreaks.
“The US is completely free of African swine fever, but USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) oversees animal health and Malaysia has agreed to recognise the US regionalisation process if there were a future outbreak,” said Schuele.
The federation further noted that ractopamine, a feed additive banned in some markets, has become uncommon in US pork production.
“Ractopamine use is now very rare in US pork production. But for both US pork and beef, maximum residue levels for ractopamine – as internationally recognised by Codex – are enforced by regulators in the US (FSIS) and in a host of trading partner countries such as Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.
“Products available to consumers in Malaysia will be subject to these same safeguards,” USMEF said.
The US industry’s forward-leaning projections and positive reaction to Malaysia’s regulatory concessions come as Malaysian government agencies, including the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and DVS, have declined to comment publicly on the implications of ART for food safety, disease surveillance, and halal integrity.
A veterinary expert previously warned that the shift from blanket country-wide bans to zone-based disease controls will place heavy demands on Malaysia’s surveillance, data sharing and border-inspection systems.
Gopeng MP Tan Kar Hing from the ruling coalition has also urged parliamentary scrutiny of the trade pact, citing gaps in regulatory capacity.
