Malaysia Repeals the Approved Permit for Four Agro-food Commodities

According to a statement on May 19, 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries (MAFI) in Malaysia repeals the Approved Permit (AP) for four agro-food commodities in align with the decision of the Prime Minister. The four food categories are round cabbage, old coconut, chicken and liquid milk.

What is Approved Permit? Approved Permit refers to the approval of import quotas and import permission for certain agro-food commodities. It involved five categories previously, namely, rice and the four categories mentioned above. In another word, the Approved Permit for rice import is still in force.

Although Approved Permit is no longer required for bringing in agro-food commodities from abroad, importers still need to have an Import Permit (IP) for biosecurity control at the country's entry points. This is to ensure that biosecurity controls and imported products are free from diseases and pests and are obtained from Government-recognized plants. Companies can import all agro-food commodities subject to Import Permit issued by the Department of Quarantine and Inspection Services Malaysia (MAQIS) together under the conditions written in the permit in accordance with subsection 11 (1) of the Services Act Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection 2011 [Act 728] as well as other acts and regulations in force.