By Adam Azman
SHAH ALAM, Apr 28 — The Selangor government has rolled out a daily monitoring dashboard in collaboration with the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) to closely track price movements and cost-of-living pressures.
State executive councillor for infrastructure and agriculture Dato’ Izham Hashim said the system, meant for use by the state government, enables real-time coordination between agencies to detect and respond quickly to any unusual increases in the prices of essential goods.
He warned that global conflicts could further drive up food prices and the cost of raw produce, hence the need for daily price checks by the government.
Izham also noted that Selangor faces structural limitations in achieving food self-sufficiency, adding to more uncertainties.
“While we continue to strengthen local production, full self-sufficiency is not realistic,” he said during the State Legislative Assembly today, citing limited agricultural land and a high level of urbanisation as the reasons.
To mitigate these vulnerabilities, the state is focusing on strengthening supply chains to ensure faster distribution and minimise spoilage, particularly for perishable goods.
However, building resilience through food reserves comes at a steep cost to the state government. Izham revealed that about RM200 million is required to sustain just one month’s supply of basic food items.
“Beyond financing, storage and logistics remain persistent challenges, especially in managing costs and ensuring proper stock rotation for perishable supplies,” he added.
On specific commodities, pork self-sufficiency has declined sharply following disease outbreaks, necessitating controlled imports under strict regulatory conditions.
Similarly, beef supply remains heavily dependent on imports, which currently account for about 95 per cent of total domestic consumption.
“Rising agricultural input costs, particularly fertilisers such as urea, also continue to be a major concern, driven largely by fluctuations in global petroleum prices,” he said.
Izham added that the state government will provide targeted assistance to affected sectors, including poultry and farming industries, based on their specific cost pressures.
