PUTRAJAYA — The strong performance of palm oil continues to be the main driver of growth in the country’s agricultural sector, which expanded 3.1 per cent in 2024 compared with 0.2 per cent in the previous year, according to the Selected Agricultural Indicators 2025 report released today by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin stated that palm oil recorded a growth rate of 5.1 per cent in 2024, compared to 0.2 per cent in 2023, thereby contributing significantly to the value-added of the agricultural sector.

“Palm oil remains the largest contributor to the value added of the agricultural sector with a contribution of RM38.1 billion, or 36.8 per cent, followed by other agriculture segments at RM29.7 billion, or 28.7 per cent, while the livestock subsector recorded a contribution of RM17.4 billion, or 16.9 per cent,” he said in a statement here today.

Commenting on agricultural production performance, Mohd Uzir stated that the production of fresh fruit bunches (palm oil) recorded the highest volume among agricultural commodities, at 100,163.5 metric tonnes, representing a 5.5 per cent increase compared to the previous year. “The highest increase in production was recorded by cocoa beans at 33.3 per cent, followed by selected vegetables (11.8 per cent), kenaf (dry stalks) (11.5 per cent), natural rubber (11.1 per cent), pepper (7.5 per cent), and selected fruits (4.5 per cent),” he said.

For the livestock subsector, Mohd Uzir noted that the number of chickens increased by 3.5 per cent to 327.3 million birds in 2024 compared with 316.2 million birds in 2023. Chicken meat production rose by 13.7 per cent, followed by beef and buffalo meat at 9.6 per cent and fresh milk at 5.7 per cent.