Home to just under 32m people, Malaysia boasts the highest per-capita dairy consumption in all of Asia with the average Malaysian consuming the equivalent of 50kg of dairy every year. The country is only 5% self-sufficient in milk production so it relies heavily on imports to meet its domestic needs. As a result, there are zero tariffs on all dairy imports entering the country.

In 2017, Malaysia imported close to 288,000t of dairy ingredients, the majority of this being in the form of SMP and whey powder. New Zealand and Australia are the dominant, long-established players in the market, accounting for 50% of dairy trade in Malaysia.

New Zealand dairy co-op Fonterra has been operating in Malaysia for decades and shipped 115,000t of product into the country in 2017. The majority of this is in the form of SMP and WMP with a small amount of butter and cheddar also.

Australian dairy companies shipped more than 26,000t of mostly SMP into Malaysia in 2017. US dairy companies are also active in Malaysia and have taken a large share of the market, mainly supplying low-value SMP and whey.

Bord Bia has identified Malaysia as a priority market for growing Irish dairy exports in the coming years and believes the greatest opportunities are to supply the market with high-value whey ingredients to buyers of infant formula and advanced nutrition ingredients.

There is also significant opportunity for Irish dairy companies to eke out contracts supplying infant formula grade SMP to buyers in the market.

Interestingly, Bord Bia has also identified a significant opportunity for Irish dairy exporters to supply cheese into Malaysia for customers in the foodservice, bakery and food manufacturing sectors.

While its population is smaller when compared with many large countries in Southeast Asia, Malaysia offers some big opportunities for higher-value Irish food exports. The country’s economy is more advanced per capita meat and dairy consumption is ahead of most other emerging markets in the region.

If the opportunities can be capitalised upon, Malaysia is a market Ireland could continue to see double-digit growth in food and drink exports in the years ahead.