Floor Padi Price Standardised To RM1,500 Per Tonne, Effective Feb 16

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13 (Bernama) -- The floor price for padi will be standardised from RM1,300 to RM1,500 per metric tonne, effective this Sunday (Feb 16).

Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu said the adjustment takes into account rising labour costs, increased prices of agricultural inputs such as fertilisers and pesticides, as well as the impact on rice production costs, which in turn affect market prices.

He also announced that the price of local white rice would be maintained at RM2.60 per kilogramme, with the government absorbing part of the production cost amounting to approximately RM150 million over a six-month period.

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"This is to ensure the availability of around 24 million 10-kg bags of local white rice in the market.

"In this regard, the ministry is currently finalising the implementation mechanism, which will be announced once the details are confirmed soon," he said during a briefing on the current situation of the padi and rice industry in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Mohamad also said that the ministry is currently negotiating with Padiberas Nasional Berhad (Bernas) to review the price for imported white rice, which is currently at RM2,800 per metric tonne.

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He added that the ministry is in the process of finalising negotiations with the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living and the Ministry of Finance to allow service providers within the padi and rice industry to qualify for diesel subsidy assistance under the Budi MADANI programme.

On efforts to reform the padi and rice industry to enhance its competitiveness, he said the ministry is reviewing the entire Control of Padi and Rice Act 1994 to align it with the ongoing reform process.

“Last Friday, the government also agreed to the proposal to establish the Malaysian Agrofood Regulatory and Enforcement Agency to strengthen the regulatory and enforcement aspects of the agrofood ecosystem, including the padi and rice industry,” he said.

Regarding the welfare of the 230,119 padi farmers, Mohamad said that the government is always concerned about this group, which faces various challenges such as rising production costs, climate change threats, pest attacks, diseases, shortages of local white rice, and weak irrigation infrastructure.

“In general, the input subsidy assistance provided to padi farmers in our country is the largest compared to other ASEAN countries,” he said.

Meanwhile, he told a press conference that the announcement on the adjustment of the floor padi price was made after considering the interests of all parties involved, including farmers, millers, and consumers.

“We cannot raise it directly to RM1,800 (which the farmers requested); what about the price of rice? Even now, the government has to intervene, which is why this decision balances the interests of everyone.

“However, this is for the next six months, and there is still a process to review the following six months. We are open to receiving feedback and meeting with any relevant parties on this matter,” he said.

-- BERNAMA