KUCHING: The Sarawak Government continues to strengthen the livestock sector and agro-food industry as a measure to enhance the state's food security and reduce the food trade deficit which remains high.

Sarawak Minister for Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom noted that a total of RM43.7 million has been allocated this year to strengthen food security and increase the domestic production of beef in Sarawak.

According to him, livestock breeding development remains a priority, with RM18 million allocated to improve the genetic quality and productivity of local livestock.

“Various livestock stations are also being upgraded to improve operational efficiency and existing facilities,” he said.

He said this during his ministerial winding-up session at the 19th Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting on Tuesday.

He added that SALCRA's cattle breeding and fattening centres in Rimbas, Betong and Stenggang, Bau are expected to be completed by the third quarter of this year.

He shared that these two new centres will be able to accommodate a total capacity of 500 cattle and increase SALCRA's feedlot capacity from the current 300 cattle to 800 cattle.

Meanwhile, Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi noted that Sarawak still recorded a food trade deficit of RM6.64 billion in 2025, compared to RM6.44 billion the previous year.

Furthermore, he said for the first quarter of this year alone, the state's food trade deficit has already reached RM1.63 billion, thereby indicating an urgent need to reinforce domestic food production.

In response, the state government is focusing on the development of export-oriented food commodities such as pineapple, coconut, sago and black pepper, which have high demand in international markets.

According to him, among the key steps to be implemented include strengthening agricultural productivity through cooperative and cluster models, expanding specialised agricultural areas such as agroparks and modern agricultural parks as well as reinforcing public-private partnerships.

In addition, the utilisation of smart agricultural technology and the modernisation of the agro-food sector will be accelerated to improve production efficiency and industrial competitiveness.

In a related development, Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi said Sarawak is also targeting to emerge as a major exporter in the regional pig farming industry by 2030.

He said the state government has set a target of 500,000 pigs through the development of pig farming areas in Pasir Puteh and Selangau, in addition to modern farms in Ensengei.

“This development is expected to produce up to 860,000 pigs annually, with the industry value estimated at RM1.29 billion,” he said.

He added that the growth of this industry will also stimulate downstream development, including food processing, to meet both domestic and export markets. -UKASnews

Translator: Ryan Lim