The Limited Impact of BDS Movement on Malaysia’s F&B Sector: A Closer Look at the GDP and Job Losses

The ongoing boycott movement against F&B businesses with alleged ties to Israel has had a limited direct impact on the national economy, according to the Ministry of Economy. The F&B sub-sector only contributes a small percentage to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with 2.3% in 2023 and 2.4% in the first quarter of 2024. However, there has been a slight effect on employment, as evidenced by an increase in job losses reported by the Employment Insurance System Report from Social Security Organisation (Socso).

Between January and May of 2024, a total of 22,315 workers lost their jobs compared to 18,026 during the same period in 2023, marking a significant increase of 23.8%. Of these job losses, approximately half were attributed to business closures and downsizing. However, this data encompasses various industries and is not specific to the food and beverage sector alone. Despite this impact on employment, Malaysia’s economy continues to grow at a rate of 4.2% in the first quarter of 2024 due to robust domestic economic activities and a shift by consumers towards locally branded products.