KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 28 -- The government is hoping that Malaysia-grown crops will make up 30 per cent of shallots for local consumption by 2030, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu has said.

At the moment, he said Malaysia depends 100 per cent on imported onions and garlic from India, Netherlands, China, Pakistan and Thailand.

"The government for now is focused on building shallot plantation, as the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi) has yet to find a suitable strain of big onions that can be planted locally.

"The government's strategy is to reduce the import of onions, and this will be done in two phases. The first phase is pre-commercial and the second is commercial market,"...