Malaysia has seized counterfeit goods worth RM198 million over the past 12 years, a minister said today at a ceremony to destroy a mountain of counterfeit Nokia products.

But deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs minister S Veerasingam said the war against piracy was hampered by insatiable consumer demand for the cut-price goods and the supply of counterfeit items from abroad.

"The domestic production of counterfeit goods has decreased but the import has increased and it is very difficult for the customs (department) to control since large number of containers arrive at our ports," he said.

"Since these counterfeit goods appear genuine, consumers knowingly or unknowingly buy them," he was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

Among popular pirated items were petroleum products, food, clothing, electronic goods and optical discs, he said.

Veerasingam presided as a steam roller destroyed counterfeit goods worth RM400,000 including mobile phone casings, batteries, mobile phone holders and hands-free devices - all bearing the popular Nokia brand name.

He said the goverment was serious about eradicating the piracy menace.

"Imitation goods worth RM78 million were confiscated in 3,667 raids conducted by the ministry last year, while this year so far in 1,745 raids, RM11.2 million worth of products were seized from unscrupulous traders," he said.

However, Malaysia remains a haven for pirated goods and traders often sell such items openly at night markets.