By INS Contributors

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: In an effort to strengthen its food security, Malaysia is moving diversify from its traditional food import sources by forging links with new partners such as Russia, according to Malaysia's Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu.

 Speaking at the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for grain supply between Melewar Industrial Group (MIG) and Russia’s Grain Exporters Union at the Russian Embassy in Malaysia, Mohamad said Malaysia will not be coerced into taking sides on matters involving its national interests.

 "Indeed it gives me great pleasure to be here today to witness the manifestation of the government’s effort in ensuring broader supply chains being established to guarantee food security for Malaysia by the signing of this significant MOU between trade entities from both Malaysia and Russia for the long term supply of grain," he said.

 "Malaysia (will) to strengthen business relations with Russia, expand the country's geo-economic space, and demonstrate Malaysia as a trading nation that upholds the principles of openness and business-friendliness," he added.

 Food security and independent foreign policy

 Mohamad's comments come after Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said that he had directly rejected US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's call to stop building friendly relations with Russia on the sidelines of the 19th East Asia Summit in October. Anwar responded to the US by saying, "That's your issue; don't instruct us. We are an independent, sovereign country; we make decisions for our people and our nation."

 Mohamad also said the wheat MOU will pave the way for further cooperation for other edible grains such as corn and barley.

 Malaysia had previously counted on countries like Australia for its wheat supply, which the country used in a number of food products including noodles and breads but continued Western pressure on the country's foreign policy direction has encouraged the lynchpin Southeast Asian state to look elsewhere particularly as the price of Western sourced goods continue to skyrocket.

 Malaysia has also actively sought to join the BRICS grouping, having been named a partner country along with a number of others following the Kazan Summit. The country is also set to take over the rotating chairmanship of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) starting Jan. 1, 2025 and is likely to advocate for the group to pursue a more diversified foreign policy.

 Expansive cooperation

 Meanwhile Russian Ambassador to Malaysia Naiyl Latypov said the MOU is one of the first major steps following the meeting between Anwar and Russian President Vladimir Putin when the former participated in this year's edition of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok and bodes well for strengthening food security and expanding cooperation in trade and agriculture.

 "Our countries stand on the threshold of new opportunities and discoveries. The Memorandum of Understanding signed today is a symbol of our mutual commitment to develop bilateral cooperation as well as evidence of high standards, trust and a shared vision to create unique solutions that will benefit both our countries," he said.

 "We are confident that this partnership will open new horizons and lay the foundations for long term success. Ahead of us lies productive work, joint projects and of course he achievement of our common goals," he added.

 MIG executive chairman Tunku Datuk Yaacob Khyra said the group has heeded the government's call for greater food security, having taken steps to secure the an alternate supply of grain in addition to its other food security related ventures including a 80,000 hectare cattle farm in Kazakhstan, a poultry farm, and processing facility, with a capacity of a million units of chicken in Cambodia, a prawn farm in Malacca state, as well as other food and beverage ventures.

 "Having recognized the governments call to bolster the country’s food security sector, we are now embarking on the import, of the country’s key essential food items, for distribution into Malaysia, to ensure that we, will not encounter disruptions, in our food supply chain, under any circumstances. 

 "Working closely with the ministry of agriculture, and food security, we have identified various food items, which would contribute, towards the diversification, of sources of our country’s food supply chain, and thus strengthen our country’s, resilience to food security threats, and will embark on our endeavours, to import the identified items, the first of which would be wheat grain, a cornerstone staple, of our food consumption," he said.

 "For this we have the privilege, of collaborating with the Russian Union of Grain Exporters, who represents 80 percent of exporters of grain, from the Russian Federation, represented by its esteemed, and highly respected chairman, Eduard Vernin, who flew in from Russia, just for this signing. This would not have happened, without the extensive assistance, rendered by members of the Russian embassy, namely Ambassador Naily Latypov, and the Russian representative of the Minister of Agriculture, Vladislav Chernov, for which we are deeply thankful," he added.

 For his part Eduard Vernin noted that Russia had not engaged Malaysia as much in the past but would now seize the opportunity to gain a share of the Southeast Asian country's grain market share.

 "Russia is the largest supplier of wheat to the world market, with a share of over 25 percent. More than 70 percent of Russian grain exports go to countries of the Islamic World. Malaysia has long remained off the radar of Russian grain exporters, who now correct the situation and conclude the first major agreement on supplies. We feel our ability to supply 600-700,000 tons of wheat to the Malaysian market annually," he said adding that Russian wheat in terms of price and quality has no competitors worldwide.

 BRICS Grain Exchange

 Malaysia is not only eyeing access to Russia's grain markets as a means of securing its supply chain but there are also valuable and important commercial opportunities. As a trading nation, emerging mechanisms such as the BRICS Grain Exchange, first proposed by Eduard Zernin to President Putin in March, will be of great interest to Malaysia, which already serves as a major entry point for ASEAN markets and beyond.

 The Kazan Declaration described the exchange as a platform for trading grain commodities within BRICS, with potential future expansion into other agricultural sectors. The BRICS Grain Exchange, once materialized, can function as another instrument to advance the bloc’s stated preference to promote the use of local currencies in the cross-border flow of goods and services.  

 The proposed BRICS Grain Exchange could fill a gap in the grain commodities exchange market in the Global South. The expanded BRICS bloc wields significant influence in global agricultural markets, accounting for roughly 44 percent of the world’s grain production and consumption, and nearly 25 percent of global grain exports. Heavyweights like Brazil and Russia lead in global grain production, while giants like China rank among the top food importers. With such a substantial market within its ranks, the expanded BRICS has a sufficiently large market to sustain the proposed platform.