KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 — Prices of urea, a key chemical fertiliser, spiked by about 63 per cent to US$777.50 per metric tonne as of May 31 this year from US$472 in February 2026, said Mohamad Sabu.
The agriculture and food security minister said other impacts of the West Asia conflict were an “uncontrolled” rise in fuel prices that increased the cost of machine usage, particularly affecting Zone C fishing in the country.
The rate of domestic food inflation increased from 1.1 per cent in March to 1.4 per cent in May.
“However, the Ministry assures that the country’s supply of essential food items such as rice, chicken, and eggs remains secure, as the national rice buffer stock is sufficient and the Self-Sufficiency Rate (SSR) for chicken and eggs is high, alongside measures to diversify the country’s main import sources,” said Mohamad in a written Dewan Rakyat reply on July 1 to Beluran MP Ronald Kiandee.
In a separate Dewan Rakyat reply to Kubang Pasu MP Ku Abd Rahman Ku Ismail yesterday, Mohamad said prices of local fertilisers were expected to increase by between 15 and 20 per cent, since 63 per cent of fertilisers used in Malaysia is imported.
The cost of animal feed is expected to increase by around 8 per cent, following a spike in transport and logistics costs. Global freight costs have almost doubled, whereas shipping insurance premiums rose 16-fold for a single journey.
To address the crisis, the government is implementing and has already implemented several mitigation measures, including granting a temporary exemption from the sales and service tax (SST) for agricultural fertilisers, such as rock phosphate and magnesium sulphate, from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027 to help reduce price pressures.
The government has also increased the Ploughing Incentive for Paddy Farmers (IPKP) for the 2026 planting season from RM160 to RM300 per hectare, benefiting nearly 200,000 paddy farmers.
As additional assistance, the government also introduced a Harvesting Incentive of RM50 per hectare per season in 2025 to help ease the burden of rising input costs.
Monthly cash assistance under BUDI Agri-Komoditi and BUDI Diesel Individu was increased from RM300 to RM400, effective from April 2026. This marks the second increase in the assistance following the global energy crisis.
The government is maintaining the diesel subsidy for fishermen at RM1.65 per litre for Zone A, B, and C vessels. Through this measure, the government is ensuring that fish catch capacity is maintained while safeguarding the welfare of fishermen.
The government is also drafting a National Food Security Act to ensure a continuous food supply, price stability, reduced dependence on imports, and access to healthy and nutritious food.
