Malaysia scored 61.5 on the Malaysian Food Security Index 2024, up from 54.5 in 2023, according to the first preliminary report released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) on 6 July 2026. The index works like a national report card on whether people can reliably get enough safe, affordable food, and this year’s grade improved.

Most of the gain came from food becoming easier to afford and reach after food inflation cooled and wages rose. Local food production, which the index measures separately, weakened over the same period. That split affects your monthly spending, because supermarket prices in an import-reliant country follow global conditions more closely than they follow the national score.

Accessibility Lifted The Score While Availability Slipped

The index tracks 25 indicators grouped into four dimensions, each scored out of 100, with data going back to 2013. Three of the four dimensions improved in 2024, and availability, which measures how much food the country produces or holds on its own, was the only one to fall.

Dimension	2024 Score	2023 Score
Accessibility	79.9	59.6
Stability	54.6	40.2
Utilisation	50.4	48.5
Availability	50.0	54.3

Accessibility, which reflects whether food is affordable and within physical reach, recorded the biggest jump after food inflation eased, road access improved, and median wages rose. Stability, a measure of how steady the food supply stays through shocks such as floods or global price spikes, climbed from 40.2 to 54.6. Utilisation, which covers nutrition and food safety, edged up slightly, while availability slipped from 54.3 to 50.0.

Local Farms Grow Less Than The Country Eats

The availability decline traces back to the indicators DOSM measures under this dimension, which cover import and export volumes of major food agriculture products, post-harvest losses, and energy supply per capita by selected food group. It sits against Malaysia’s longer-running reliance on imports for much of what it eats. Speaking at the Simfoni Data dan Media discourse in Putrajaya, chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said Malaysia faces no major problem obtaining food supplies because shortfalls in local production can be covered through imports, but he acknowledged that domestic production needs strengthening and said future economic planning must put more weight on the agricultural sector.

He credited part of the 2024 improvement to government efforts to expand the use of modern technology in the agricultural sector, including the Internet of Things (IoT) and drones. In farming generally, these tools are used to monitor crop conditions and automate work such as spraying, though DOSM did not detail how they contributed to the score. The department also plans to finalise the report after refinements, including a digital dashboard that will make food security data easier for the public to access.

World Prices Reach Your Trolley Through Imports

Because imports cover the shortfall in local production, part of every grocery bill is decided outside Malaysia. Climate disruptions, geopolitical conflicts, supply chain problems, and rising energy costs all feed into the country’s import bill, and a weaker ringgit or higher shipping costs pass through to the prices of imported food over time.

The 2024 score rose largely because food became cheaper and easier to buy, not because Malaysia grew more of it. The finalised report and the digital dashboard will show whether availability recovers in the next cycle, and monthly food inflation figures from DOSM remain the quickest signal of whether the affordability gains are holding. If groceries are squeezing your budget in the meantime, there are ways to cut your grocery bill without changing what you eat.

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