Efforts to Bring in Food Items

The second strategy in the food security agenda is to ensure that local entrepreneurs are able to bring in food items that cannot be produced locally or which can be produced from within the country, but are still insufficient.

Yang Berhormat the Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism said food items that can be produced in the country, but are still insufficient include chillies, tomatoes, pumpkin, radish, French beans, capsicum, lemons, avocados and others. While food items that cannot be produced in the country include onions, carrots, vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and Brussel sprouts as well as fruits such as apples, strawberries, pears, grapes and others. In terms of beef and mutton, the Ministry also imports live cattle and goats from abroad, especially from Australia where the cows and goats are slaughtered in the capital, and the meat is also sold domestically. In 2020, a total of 8,493 cows and one thousand three hundred goats were imported from abroad.

This year, until September, a total of 13,091 cows and 6,793 goats have been brought into Brunei Darussalam. Apart from that, the Ministry also imported frozen beef and mutton from abroad, especially from Australia. Also last year, a total of three hundred thirty metric tonnes have been imported while until September 2021, a total of six hundred twenty-eight metric tonnes have been imported from abroad. For the supply of fish and shrimp, the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism is grateful to the small-scale fishermen in the country which accounts for about 74 percent of fish production in the country. Apart from that, some foreign direct investment FDI investors are also involved in fish production in the country either by using fishing vessels or raising fish using cages or ponds or aquaculture.

Source: Radio Television Brunei