THE boycott movement, especially against food and beverage (F&B) businesses that allegedly have ties with Israel, has had less direct impact on the economy, but has slightly affected employment, according to the Economy Ministry.

In a written reply, the ministry said this was because the contribution of the F&B sub-sector to the gross domestic product is small – 2.3% in 2023 and 2.4% in the first quarter of 2024.

It noted that consumers’ switch to locally branded business products evened out the impact and also further increased domestic economic activities.

“Although the boycott movement is still continuing, Malaysia continues to record encouraging economic growth, which is 4.2% in the first quarter of 2024, supported by resilient domestic economic activities,” said the ministry.

However, the ministry said there has been an increase in the number of workers who have lost their jobs based on data provided by the Employment Insurance System Report by the Social Security Organisation.

It said, for the period from January to May 2024, a total of 22,315 workers lost their jobs compared to 18,026 for the same period in 2023, which is an increase of 23.8%.

Of this total, 1,091 workers or 4.9% are workers in the accommodation and food service sector.

The ministry said a total of 583 workers or 50.7% of the reported job losses were due to business closures and downsizing.

“This job loss data is in general and not skewed to the food and beverage sector only,” it said. – June 26, 2024.