Malaysia

Malaysia’s economy is expected to expand at a faster pace in 2024. After experiencing weaker-than expected growth last year, Malaysia’s economy grew strongly in the first half of 2024, driven by robust private consumption, increased investment amid higher FDI inflows, and improved export performance. In 2024, the economy is forecast to expand by 4.9 percent, an increase of 0.6 percentage points from the previous forecast in April 2024. Inflation is projected to moderate due to softer global commodity prices and weaker than-anticipated passthrough effects of recent policy changes. Meanwhile, fiscal space is narrowing, and rigid spending is expected to rise due to the recently announced salary adjustments. While optimizing public spending amid ongoing subsidy rationalization efforts can free up budgetary resources, enhancing revenue mobilization is vital to restore fiscal space and sustainably finance Malaysia’s growing spending needs. To maintain its economic momentum and achieve high-income status, Malaysia must transform key sectors, including agriculture, into sustainable engines of growth. The agrofood sector plays a significant role in supporting Malaysia’s economy, contributing 11.6 percent to the national GDP and employing 1.87 million people in 2023 (approximately 10 percent of the total Malaysian workforce). The Government’s vision strategy outlines three key objectives for the agrofood system: (i) become globally competitive and innovative; (ii) enhance the wellbeing of food producers while providing affordable, nutritious food; and (iii) reduce the sector’s environmental footprint. Addressing the imbalance between food demand and supply, exacerbated by urbanization, is crucial. This requires reducing transaction costs and information asymmetries that affect both farmers’ and consumers’ decisions. High transaction costs hinder farmers’ market access and contribute to information gaps. Digital Agricultural Technologies (DATs) offer transformative solutions to these challenges by boosting productivity, creating better jobs (especially for youth), and improving access to finance. Effective DAT implementation requires a focus on three strategic pillars: investing in public goods (e.g., digital literacy and rural connectivity), fostering innovative ecosystems (e.g., data platforms and startup incubators), and cultivating an enabling environment to incentivize private sector development in digital agriculture.