KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 9): Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu suggested a hike in the ceiling price of local white rice be included in the upcoming Budget 2024, which will be tabled in Parliament on Friday.

He acknowledged the need to review the ceiling price of local white rice, which has been fixed at RM26 per 10kg since 2008 — a move then to incentivise paddy farmers to boost local rice production.

"However, matters related to food security are shared by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy, and the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Costs of Living.

“I will bring this matter up with the Finance Ministry and the prime minister to determine whether this proposal can be included in the upcoming budget," said Mohamad when winding up debate on the rice shortage issue at Dewan Rakyat on Monday.

Earlier, Titiwangsa Member of Parliament Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani urged the removal of the ceiling price to motivate paddy farmers to increase production, in order to address the current supply shortage of locally produced rice.

Johari suggested raising the ceiling price to RM32 per 10kg from the current RM26, while continuing to provide subsidies to B40 households nationwide.

"The current rice shortage has affected 3.2 million B40 households nationwide, and based on the suggestion of raising the ceiling price to RM32 per 10kg, the government would only need to allocate RM460 million to subsidise these B40 households," he stated.

Johari added that these subsidies would be a temporary measure, and the government can withdraw them once the supply of locally produced white rice returns to normal.

Meanwhile, former agriculture minister Ronald Kiandee (PN-Beluran) criticised the government's decision to instruct the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) and the Farmers’ Organization Committee (LPP) to act as distributors of local white rice.

"We are currently facing a shortage of locally produced white rice, not a distribution issue. The government's move does not address the main issue," he said.

Ronald Kiandee also urged the government to investigate allegations of manipulation in the sale of locally produced rice as imported rice.

He alleged that manufacturers were willing to buy rice from farmers at RM1,700 per metric tonne, even though the government had set a floor price of RM1,200.

"This should ring a bell within the ministry. Manufacturers willing to buy rice at a higher price than the government's floor price suggests possible manipulation," he added.

Buying local rice at a higher price is likely to eat into local millers’ profit margin, with the selling price capped by the government.

Malaysia is currently experiencing disruptions in the supply of locally produced rice, leading the government to impose a 100kg limit on purchases of locally produced white rice.

Meanwhile, the country's sole rice importer, Bernas, has raised the price of imported rice to RM3,200 per tonne, up from RM2,350 per tonne. This increase is attributed to factors such as a weakening currency exchange rate, high operating costs, and the impact of the white rice export ban announced by India beginning July.

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