Русский
Russia exported agricultural products worth US$1.4 million to Malaysia in January-April 2026, up 1.6-fold year-on-year, while in physical terms, supplies grew 37% to over 1,400 tonnes, Russia’s Agroexport Federal Center has stated, following a meeting between its CEO, Ilya Ilyushin, and Malaysian agricultural officials. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Russia-Islamic World forum in Kazan on Thursday (May 14).
The two sides also discussed the development of mutual trade in agricultural products, including increasing exports of halal products, as well as Malaysia’s non-tariff regulation regarding supplies of products from Russia. Ilyushin said that “Malaysia is an important destination for the development of Russian agricultural exports to Southeast Asian countries. Over the past five years, Malaysia has nearly doubled its imports of agricultural products; they exceeded US$26 billion in 2025. Russia can meet the growing demand for food of Malaysia’s population.”
Russian companies are interested in supplying grain, fish, meat, vegetable oils, and products of the food and processing industries to the Malaysian market, he said. Ilyushin also urged Malaysian exporters to send more tropical fruits and seafood to Russia.
The Supreme Ruler of Malaysia, Sultan Ibrahim, visited Moscow just a few days ago.
Malaysia is a key member of the ASEAN trade bloc, which also provides it with free trade agreements with Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea. Malaysia also has agreements with fellow Islamic nations Pakistan and Turkiye. The Developing Eight (D-8) Preferential Tariff Accords (PTA) and the Trade Preferential System-Organization of Islamic Conference (TPS-OIC) are two more completed trade accords. Malaysia currently has the following negotiation tracks: the Malaysia-Iran Preferential Trade Agreement (MIPTA), the Malaysia-European Free Trade Area Economic Partnership Agreement (MEEPA), and the Malaysia-EU Free Trade Agreement (MEUFTA).
Malaysia is also a BRICS partner state and is discussing a potential free trade agreement with Russia via the Eurasian Economic Union. The Q1 2026 GDP growth for Malaysia was 5.6%.
