In Malaysia, growing consumer interest in pets (fish, birds and small mammals and reptiles) is being driven by a significant increase in disposable incomes. The proportion of Malaysian households with an annual disposable income of at least RM 75,000 (at purchasing power parity or PPP) jumped from 34% to 46% between 2005 and 2010, while the proportion of households with a disposable income of at least RM165, 000 rose from 10% to 16%.

The transition of a society from being primarily rural to urban is usually associated with a change in attitude towards pets that sees them being increasingly indulged, and Malaysia is proving to be no exception to this. In particular, urbanization can boost the popularity of such pets as fish and pet as apartment dwelling becomes more commonplace and the number of consumers with the space required to accommodate a dog or cat shrinks. While 90% of Malaysians still live in houses, the number of apartment dwellers rose by almost 90,000 to 569,000.

The number of small mammals also exhibited strong growth, increasing by 35%, to 160,000. In contrast Malaysia’s bird population shrank by 10%, to 190,000, as interest in keeping birds declined. The number of reptiles kept as pets was relatively stable, increasingly by 7% to 46,000.

While the majority of other pet food products in Malaysia are positioned as either economy or mid-priced, in recent years a number of premium and super-premium products, especially in fish food, have emerged. These are priced above RM100/kg. This premiumisation is being driven by the growing popularity of such high-end fish breeds as Arowana.

These factors combined to drive a real compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.1% in value sales of other pet food in Malaysia over the review period, to RM40.8 million. Real growth was significantly higher in 2009 and 2010 (2.6% and 2.2%, respectively) than in previous years. 95% of these sales were accounted for by fish food in 2010, with bird food and small mammal/reptile food accounting for just 4% and 1% of value sales, respectively.

NEW EXPERIENCE AT APE2015
The Pet owner will have a new experience come Sept 2015 for being able to participate in all the fun activities such as Aquatics, and pet competition that they have never being before all under ONE aircon area. The event is fully supported by DOF, DOV & MKA and organised by FEMSB with the most successful pet show in Malaysia both in Mid Valley & Johor Baharu. If you are keen to explore this ever expanding market, you should be at APE2015