Malaysia and Thailand have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation in agriculture, fisheries and food security following a high-level meeting between their agriculture ministers in Putrajaya on Wednesday.

Malaysia’s Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu met with Thailand’s Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Suriya Jungrungreangkit to discuss trade, market access and regional food security.

During the meeting, Malaysia raised several unresolved trade issues, including Thailand’s restrictions on Malaysian shrimp exports, stricter inspection requirements for Malaysian seabass exports and pending applications for access to Thailand’s animal-based product market since 2024.

Malaysia also explained its temporary suspension of imports of five categories of shrimp from Thailand, saying the decision was based on technical assessment and risk analysis to protect biosecurity and food safety.

Both countries agreed to continue discussions and maintain open and transparent communication to strengthen technical cooperation and commercial ties in the agriculture and agri-food sectors.

Malaysia also encouraged Thailand to make greater use of the ASEAN Rapid Transit System rail network to support agricultural trade across the region, particularly to improve market access for Malaysian agricultural products, including durian, into China.

Trade in agriculture and agri-food products between Malaysia and Thailand reached 20.33 billion ringgit in 2025. Malaysia’s main exports include coffee, cocoa, tea, spices and processed foods, while imports from Thailand are dominated by meat and meat-based products.

At the end of the meeting, Malaysia invited Thailand to participate in the Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism Exhibition, or MAHA 2026, scheduled from Aug 28 to Sept 6.