Agriculture Agriculture is a key sector for Malaysia’s economic growth. The agricultural sector is one of the National Key Economic Areas (NKEA) under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP). It plays an important role in Malaysia’s socio-economic development by ensuring national food security, enabling people’s well-being by providing rural employment as well as uplifting rural incomes to reduce the inequality divide.
The contribution of the agriculture sector to Malaysia’s GDP was huge in the past for example around 44% in 1960. However, over the years the contribution of the agriculture sector to Malaysian GDP has dwindled from 1960 to present. The agriculture sector contributed 8.9% to Malaysia’s GDP in 2015. Oil palm is a major contributor to the GDP within the agriculture sector at 46.9% followed by other agriculture (17.7%), livestock (10.7%), fishing (10.7%), rubber (7.2%) and forestry & logging (6.9%) in 2015 as shown in Figure 4.7. Under the 11MP, the targeted contribution to Malaysia’s GDP by the agriculture sector is around RM110.7 billion by 2020.
Oil Palm
Services Manufacturing
46.9%
53.5%
23.0%
Other Agriculture
17.7% Mining & Quarrying
9.0%
Livestock
10.7%
RM 1,062.8 billion Agriculture
8.9%
Fishing
(RM94.1 billion)
10.7%
Construction
4.4%
Plus Import Duties
1.3%
Rubber Forestry & Logging
7.2%
6.9%
Figure 4.7: Percentage share to GDP by kind of economic activity in 2015 (Source: Department of Statistic Malaysia, 2016)
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