Malaysia: Agricultural Biotechnology Annual

The COVID 19 pandemic in Malaysia saw most government agencies operating at minimum staffing with most working from home throughout 2020 and 2021. This has severely impacted the number of GE events approved by the National Biosafety Board (NBB). As of August 2021, 50 GE products have been approved for import and market release. This is an increase of 8 percent from the 46 products that were approved as of August 2020. Malaysia currently does not have any domestic production of plant biotechnology. However, the country continues to expand the number of approved genetically engineered (GE) products for commercial use. The Malaysian Ministry of Health established mandatory GE labeling guidelines in 2013, but they have yet to be enforced.