SRI AMAN: The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM) today (Feb 8) announced that the floor price for paddy purchases has been set at RM1,300 per metric tonne in Sabah and Sarawak, effective from Feb 15.
The announcement was made by Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu during his three-day working visit to Sarawak, accompanied by Deputy Minister Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup, along with the KPKM Senior Management delegation.
Mohamad Sabu said the government is concerned about complaints and grievances of farmers regarding the purchase price of paddy by manufacturers previously at much higher rates.
“At present, the purchase price of paddy in Sabah and Sarawak is relatively low, ranging from around RM900 to RM1,100.
“Therefore, I am pleased to announce that the floor price for paddy purchases in Sabah and Sarawak is set at RM1,300 per metric tonne, as applied to rice millers in Peninsular Malaysia.
“This increase in the floor price of paddy purchases aims to help increase farmers’ income while encouraging them to increase paddy production,” he said during his work visit to Dewan Nangkai, Stumbin here.
The visit earlier also witnessed the delivery of mechanisation assistance packages totalling RM810,000 to leading companies under the Large-Scale SMART Rice Field Programme (SMART SBB) in Tanjung Bijat and Sri Aman Agricultural Cooperative Berhad to promote cultivation using modern technology.
Meanwhile, Mohamad Sabu revealed that despite decades of involvement in paddy and rice production, Malaysia is still relying on imported white rice.
He said based on the 2022 statistics, the level of self-sufficiency in rice (SSR) is at 62.6 per cent.
“The amount of rice produced by the country is only 1.6 million metric tonnes compared to the requirement of 2.5 million metric tonnes annually.
“With the amount of investment and effort undertaken previously, Malaysia should have achieved 100 per cent SSR, however, the national rice industry still faces various challenges and issues stemming from internal and external factors,” he added.
Various challenges, including land reduction and weather factors, contribute to the nation’s struggles in achieving full self-sufficiency.
As such, he said the government also provides several incentives to help reduce the cost of rice production borne by rice farmers, including the Federal Government Rice Fertilizer Scheme (SBPKP), Rice Production Incentive Scheme (SIPP), Fertilizer and Poison Subsidy Scheme (SBRPB), and Rice Pricing Subsidy Scheme (SSHP).
Currently, the purchase price of paddy in Sabah and Sarawak is determined based on the market price with a minimum guaranteed price of RM750 per metric tonne and paddy milling through tenders ranging from 14 per cent to 16 per cent.
The setting of the floor price for paddy purchases only involves white rice and does not include special or traditional rice produced in Sabah and Sarawak.
