The Malaysia Competition Commission (“MyCC”) has made available its findings and recommendations contained in its Market Review on Food Sector under Competition Act 2010 (CA 2010). The report was successfully launched on 6 August 2019 by the Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumers Affairs, the Honourable Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail. The Market Review, conducted in line with section 11 and 12 of Competition Act 2010, focused on five (5) selected food items namely beef, Indian mackerel (ikan kembung), infant formula, mustard leaf (sawi) and round cabbage (kobis bulat).

The aim of the Market Review is to look into the market structure, competitiveness of the market and to determine whether there are any anti-competitive conducts in the food sector at the same time unbundling the rationale behind the significant increase in price of these items in recent years.

As part of the findings, MyCC has proposed recommendations to further improve the competition process within the five (5) subsectors in tandem with the government's efforts and initiatives to reduce cost of living. “The MyCC is committed to safeguard the process of healthy competition where it encourages efficiency, innovation and entrepreneurship for the betterment to the market. This commitment potentially promotes competitive prices, improvement in the quality of products and services and wider choices for rakyat who are also the consumers. The next step is for the relevant stakeholders to work together in the manifestation of the recommendations.” said Iskandar Ismail, Chief Executive Officer of MyCC.

This report is finalised after 9 months and went through rigourous research, numerous engagement and consultation sessions with relevant stakeholders in the food sector including relevant ministries, government agencies, associations and industry players. The MyCC believes the report is an essential reference material to policy makers in line with the Government’s efforts to address the issues on the costs of living. Apart from that, this initiative is also consistent with the Government's efforts through the National Entrepreneurship Policy to encourage development and drive the growth of the entrepreneurship sector in Malaysia.

For further information on the findings of the market reviews please find in the MyCC website at www.mycc.gov.my.