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MALAYSIA consists of a peninsula, bordering Thailand in the north, and the northwestern side of the island of Borneo, with a total of 330,000 km2 and a population of 21.8 million. Most of the peninsula is covered in tropical forest, much of it on a central mountain range. Coastal plains dominate the Borneo states and the interior is mountainous. About a quarter of the workforce is engaged in agriculture; 3% of the land is arable. Agriculture is 12% of the GDP.
General information
- GNI per capita PPP$, 2000: 8,330
- Internal renewable water resources: 456 km3
- Main food consumed: rice, oil and fat, sugar and honey, wheat, meat
- Rice consumption, 1999: 88.4 kg milled rice per person per year
Production constraints
Yield has remained more or less unchanged during the last five years and is still low regardless of the large percentage of irrigated areas. There are several constraints to sustainable rice production in Malaysia:
- Periodic drought even under irrigation because of erratic rainfall
- Intrusion of seawater in low-lying rice fields
- Weeds: red rice because of the adoption of direct seeding; insects: brown planthopper, stem borer, and green leafhopper; and diseases: blast and rice tungro virus
- Labor shortage because of high labor wages in rural areas
- Unfavorable prices of rice compared with those of other food products
Production season |
|
|
|
Planting |
Harvesting |
Main season,Peninsular |
Sep-Oct |
Nov-Mar |
Main season,Sabah |
Jun-Aug |
Jan-Mar |
Main season,Sarawak |
Oct-Nov |
Mar-Apr |
Basic statistics, Malaysia |
|
1985 |
1990 |
1995 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
Rice |
Area harvested (ha) |
654,974 |
680,647 |
672,787 |
674,404 |
692,389 |
692,389 |
Yield (t/ha) |
2.7 |
2.8 |
3.2 |
2.9 |
2.9 |
2.9 |
Production (t) |
1,745,367 |
1,884,984 |
2,127,271 |
1,944,240 |
2,036,641 |
2,036,641 |
Rice imports (t) |
428,017 |
330,336 |
427,556 |
657,870 |
612,467 |
na |
Rice exports (t) |
2,002 |
111 |
2,430 |
2,088 |
117 |
na |
Paddy exports (t) |
0 |
0 |
24 |
na |
na |
na |
Others |
Population, total (x103) |
15,677 |
17,845 |
20,108 |
21,410 |
21,830 |
na |
Population, agriculture (x103) |
5,006 |
4,646 |
4,314 |
4,089 |
4,011 |
na |
Agricultural area (x103 ha) |
5,798 |
7,176 |
7,885 |
7,890 |
na |
na |
Irrigated agricultural area (x103 ha) |
334 |
335 |
363 |
365 |
na |
na |
Total fertilizer consumption (t) |
611,400 |
951,500 |
1,087,000 |
1,406,111 |
na |
na |
Tractors used in agric. (no.) |
12,000 |
26,000 |
43,295 |
43,300 |
na |
na |
Source: FAOSTAT online database. |
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