Could not raising pigs and switching to imported pork become an option for Malaysia?
Recently, Malaysian MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan raised a question in Parliament: Since domestic demand can be met through pork imports, is there any need for the government to continue keeping large pig farms?
In his view, rather than dealing long-term with the odors, wastewater, and water source pollution caused by pig farms, the country should close all its pig farms and consider importing pork. If imported pork is cheaper and can also reduce the problems faced by local residents, why not choose a “safer” approach like Singapore’s?
Similar calls have been made before. Earlier this year, MP Kalam Salan also called for local pig farming to be halted.
At present, the Malaysian government is assessing the pig farming industry chain. Malaysia’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Mohamad Sabu, announced in 3 that a comprehensive study of the sector would be conducted, covering legal, technical, economic and social aspects. Selangor has already taken the lead, deciding to gradually close local pig farms.
But when an industrial policy related to environmental governance becomes intertwined with religion, ethnic identity, and the livelihoods of minority groups, the issue is no longer as simple as “raise locally or buy from abroad.”
“People who have not experienced it firsthand may not understand this pain.”
On 10 19, Wan Saiful cited pig farms in Kampung Selamat, North Seberang Perai, Penang, Malaysia, as an example while participating in the policy debate on the 2027 fiscal budget, describing the long-standing difficulties faced by local residents.
According to him, odors and water pollution from the pig farms have affected local residents’ daily lives for decades. At times, the stench has been so strong that it has even affected residents’ ability to hold banquets.
Wansef’s own home is not far from the pig farm, and as soon as he opens the door, he can smell the stench. Nearby residents have also seen with their own eyes the river water change from its original color to black.
“People who have not experienced it firsthand may not understand this suffering,” Wansef said during his speech in Parliament. Local residents endure these effects every day, yet the problem has never been resolved.
Wansai Fu
He believes that wherever a pig farm is built, it is bound to face opposition from nearby residents. Rather than remain embroiled in disputes over site selection and environmental complaints, it would be better to reassess whether large-scale pig farms still need to exist.
He emphasized that the discussion should address practical issues such as pollution control, public welfare, and industrial sustainability, and avoid turning into a racial or religious dispute.
Selangor will be the first to “exit”
Selangor is Malaysia’s most populous and economically developed state. It surrounds Kuala Lumpur and has a high concentration of urban areas and industrial zones. As urban development continues, tensions between pig farms and residential areas have become increasingly pronounced.
Controversy surrounding the local pig-farming industry initially focused on issues such as waste management, unpleasant odors, mosquitoes, and river pollution. Later, opinions gradually diverged over whether pig farms should be allowed to continue operating, where they should be relocated, and whether the government should approve new farming sites.
This 1 month, the Selangor royal family opposed the state government's proposal to allow pig farms in Tanjung Sepat to operate temporarily before relocating to a modern, centralized farming facility in Bukit Tagar. The royal family believes that the problems caused by the local pig farming industry have remained unresolved for a long time, and explicitly opposes the continued operation of pig farming businesses in Selangor.
Currently, the Selangor state government has stopped issuing new pig farming licenses and decided to close existing pig farms in stages.
According to Izhan, the state official responsible for agricultural affairs, the state government plans to complete the culling of pigs and site clearance by the end of this year, then rehabilitate the land and help affected farmers find new sources of livelihood.
Going forward, Selangor’s pork supply will be 100% dependent on imports or procurement from other states.
For some farmers, this means that a family business run for many years may come to an end.
One livestock farmer, who wished to remain anonymous, said that pig farming was the only livelihood skill he knew. If he switched to raising chickens or cattle, he would have to start from scratch, and he was also “burdened with debt.”
“The only thing I can do now is pray to God,” he lamented helplessly.
Izhan said that some pig farmers have already started switching to crops such as limes, and the state government also plans to help other operators apply for agricultural aid and move into new agricultural projects. However, the transition is not as simple as switching to another crop. Farmers need to make new arrangements for their existing land, equipment, loans, and accumulated technical expertise.
Modernization also faces practical challenges
The environmental problems caused by pig farms did not arise overnight. How to handle pig manure, wastewater, and gases generated during the raising process has always been a major challenge.
Lin Jianwen, an engineer with extensive experience in wastewater system design, once noted that pig manure is not only high in carbon but also contains large amounts of undecomposed fiber and long-chain organic matter, so it cannot be treated by simple sedimentation alone. In traditional, dispersed farming environments without enclosed management, manure decomposition also produces biogas and foul-smelling gases. Hydrogen sulfide has a strong odor and is also corrosive.
To meet modern environmental protection standards, farms need to build professional wastewater treatment systems equipped with the appropriate facilities and staffed with operators. However, the construction and operating costs of these systems are not low. If the scale of the farm is insufficient, the biogas produced cannot be effectively recovered and utilized, making it difficult to spread the associated costs.
Selangor pig farm
The Malaysian government has previously promoted the modernization of the industry. In 3 this year, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Chen Hong Lian said that the government encourages the pig farming industry to adopt closed farming systems, improve waste management, and strengthen environmental protection measures.
According to data released at the time, of the 355 registered pig farms in Malaysia, 121 had adopted modern farming practices such as enclosed pig housing and the zero-emissions concept, accounting for about one third.
This also shows that there are technical solutions to pollution problems. For places that still wish to retain pig farming, intensive farming, enclosed pig barns, specialized manure and wastewater treatment, and stricter emissions regulation are all options that can be discussed.
But modernization raises an unavoidable practical question: who will bear the cost?
If livestock farmers are required to meet higher environmental standards but are not provided with sufficient land, financing, and technical support, some small and medium-sized farmers may find it difficult to continue operating. The Malaysia Agricultural Bank also generally does not provide loans or financing facilities for the pig farming industry, further increasing the difficulty of upgrading the sector.
Is Malaysia ready to shift from local farming to imports?
Wan Saif believes that imported pork may be cheaper than pork raised locally in Malaysia, and that Singapore’s experience is worth considering.
Singapore has limited land resources, and pig farming requires land and water. It also involves environmental management issues such as manure treatment and odor control. Since the 80s, Singapore has gradually restricted the development of pig farming, and by the 90s, domestic pig production had largely ended. Pork supply is highly dependent on imports.
But can Malaysia replicate this model?
The situation in Malaysia seems to be different. The country still has a domestic pig farming industry of some scale and has been discussing ways to increase agricultural self-sufficiency.
In 3 this year, Chen Hong Jian stated that Malaysia's pork self-sufficiency rate in 2024 was 67.8%, and the government's target was to raise this rate to 90% by 2030. This means that, at least in the policy planning at the time, increasing domestic production capacity remained one of the directions under consideration by the government.
Changes in the number of pig farms and licenses also show the pressures facing the industry.
A written reply submitted to Parliament by Agriculture and Food Security Minister Shab7 on 13 disclosed that there are 427 pig farms nationwide, of which 338 hold valid licenses and 89 operate without licenses. By comparison, official data for 2024 showed 435 licensed pig farms and 52 unlicensed pig farms.
According to the data above, licensed pig farms decreased by approximately 22.3% over the two years, while unlicensed pig farms increased by approximately 71.2%.
Shaboo said the decrease in the number of licensed pig farmers does not affect the pork supply, because pork imported from approved overseas slaughterhouses can make up the shortfall when domestic supply is insufficient.
He also previously disclosed during questioning in Parliament that Malaysia’s non-Muslim population accounts for approximately 36.5% of the total population. In 2025, the country’s pork demand was 21.3928 ten thousand tonnes, while local supply was 22.1959 ten thousand tonnes, with overall supply and demand in balance.
These data show that Malaysia does not currently have to rely on imports immediately to meet its pork demand. Imports can serve as a means of supplementing supply, but if the domestic pig farming industry were to exit entirely, imports would shift from a tool for regulating the market to the primary means of maintaining supply.
There is a significant difference between the two.
In addition, whether imported pork can maintain its price advantage over the long term is also a point of contention in Wansai Fu’s proposal.
Local farming involves costs for land, feed, labor, environmental protection facilities, and disease prevention. For smaller farms with relatively outdated technology, these expenses may further increase production costs. By contrast, pork from major producing countries may gain a price advantage through large-scale production and well-established processing systems.
However, import prices are not fixed. International market conditions, transportation costs, exchange rates, quarantine requirements, and trade policies all affect the final landed cost. Even if imported pork is cheaper during a certain period, this does not mean it has a price advantage at all times.
In addition, Ahmad Ibrahim, a wastewater engineering expert at the Tan Sri Omar Centre for Technology and Innovation Policy at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, is also concerned that relying on imports poses a risk of disease entering the country.
Last year in month 1, an African swine fever outbreak occurred in Tanjung Sepat, and approximately half of the local pig farms carried out pig culling. Today, African swine fever continues to threaten the global pork supply.
Ibrahim believes that modern enclosed pig farms with biosecurity corridors can provide a better barrier against disease. By contrast, if closing pig farms is viewed as the only solution, further assessment is needed of how the country will respond to fluctuations in external supply after domestic production capacity declines.
Beyond prices, there are also cascading effects from consumer substitution.
Ibrahim said that if pork prices rise significantly, some consumers may switch to other protein sources such as chicken. The effects of a contraction in pork supply may therefore not be limited to the pork market, but could also be transmitted to other meat products.
Whether to stay in or leave the pig farming industry is about more than just environmental protection and prices
Malaysia’s pig farming industry is particularly sensitive because of the social and political context behind it.
Approximately 63.5% of Malaysia’s population follows Islam, which prohibits the consumption of pork. Pork production and consumption are therefore socially sensitive issues, but environmental pollution, land use, and residents’ quality of life are also issues the local government must address.
Malaysian pig farm
Bridget Welsh, Honorary Associate Fellow at the Asia Research Institute of the University of Nottingham Malaysia, believes that once issues of faith and identity take center stage, problems that could otherwise be addressed through technical and managerial means can easily be reduced to an either-or choice.
She noted that, in policy discussions about the pig farming industry, the religious sensitivities of the majority may be given priority, leaving less room to seek technical solutions that balance the interests of different groups.
Malaysia's Sin Chew Daily previously reported that the core issue should not be framed as a binary choice of “raise or not raise,” but rather as how to achieve a balance between environmental protection and industrial development through modernization and technological upgrades.
The current global geopolitical situation is tense, and food supply chains are highly vulnerable to disruption. Whether due to insufficient production capacity, logistics failures, or packaging delays, excessive reliance on international markets puts the country at risk of sharp price increases and supply crises.
Malaysia has long advocated food self-sufficiency, yet many staple foods remain heavily dependent on imports. The issue is not a lack of land, but a lack of comprehensive, long-term land-use and industry planning. National agricultural policy has long favored cash crops such as oil palm; in recent years, the rising export value of durian has also prompted farmers to switch crops. As a result, the area available for producing staple foods essential to people’s livelihoods continues to shrink.
In Ibrahim's view, ultimately, this is also a test of Malaysia's multicultural society and its inclusiveness. “Not to ‘determine a winner,’ but to turn this into an inclusive and transparent model for policymaking.”