Malaysia Extends Exemption to Ease DDGS Imports from U.S.

The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) announced last week that Malaysian officials agreed to permanently exempt imports of U.S. DDGS and corn gluten meal (CGM) from that nation's upcoming, more stringent sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) and inspection regulations for agricultural commodities.

"Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, is a growth market, so this is an important decision," said Adel Yusupov, USGC regional director for Southeast Asia.

"Malaysia has experienced problems with some countries of origin, but U.S. DDGS and CGM are high quality. It is encouraging to see Malaysia recognizing this in its regulations."

The decision by the Malaysian government extends the exemption for U.S. exports the balance of this year and then makes it permanent when new inspection rules come into effect on Jan. 1, 2015. The regulations were "one-size-fits-all" that covered all sources of the commodities, said Yusopov.
Malaysia is not a huge export destination for U.S. DDGS at this time, at 47,532 metric tons (mt) in 2013. That ranked 21st for U.S. exports last year, a few thousand mt behind Guatemala and Cuba. Through the first six months of 2014, the pace has dropped 15% to 19,972 mt.

But those figures were set to tumble even further if the commodities were subject to new inspection regulations announced by Malaysia earlier this year.

USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service office in Malaysia worked with USGC to present the case for an exemption of U.S. DDGS and GCM, said Yusupov. "Without this decision, US DDGS and CGM would have faced requirements for fumigation at the port of origin and strict phytosanitary certification, effective Jan. 1, 2015," Yusupov said. "The exemption is a big win for trade, and for Malaysian consumers."

--Kevin Adler, kadler@opisnet.com