Malaysians spent average annual food-at-home expenses reaching US$1,940 per person in 2023, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Singapore followed at $1,831, trailed by Thailand ($1,108), the Philippines ($1,070), and Cambodia ($898), The Star reported.
The USDA figures are not adjusted for inflation or cost-of-living differences between countries.
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A shopkeeper sorts goods at a grocery shop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Oct. 13, 2023. Photo by Reuters |
Experts say Malaysia’s high household grocery spending is driven by several factors, including rising input costs, a weakened Ringgit, low farm productivity, and heavy reliance on food imports.
Sunway University economics professor Yeah Kim Leng said although Singapore has a significantly higher per capita income, its food-at-home expenditure remained comparable to Malaysia’s between 2017 and 2023, even falling below it in 2023.
Khazanah Research Institute (KRI) research associate Teoh Ai Ni said grocery spending figures are influenced by eating habits, particularly how often people dine at home versus outside.
She cited data from the Household Expenditure Survey 2022 showing that Malaysian households spent about 48% of their monthly food budget on meals away from home and 52% on food at home. In comparison, Singaporean households allocated 68% of their food spending to eating out.
KRI fellow researcher Nik Syafiah Anis said Malaysia’s dependence on food imports exposes it to global supply chain disruptions and price shocks.
“One key dimension of this dependency is the country’s reliance on imported animal feed – particularly corn and soymeal, which are key inputs in poultry, livestock, and aquaculture production,” she said.
She said this over-reliance on imported feed contributes to rising domestic food prices.
Global disruptions, such as geopolitical tensions or poor harvests, can drive up feed prices, resulting in higher costs for commonly consumed items like chicken, eggs, fish, and meat, she said,
Teoh said the share of income spent on food depends on both earnings and food costs. Although Malaysians spend more on groceries in U.S. dollar terms, the proportion of income allocated to food is lower than in many other countries in the region.
