‘If you give me rice, I’ll eat today; if you teach me how to grow rice, I’ll eat every day.’ — Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, Mahatma Gandhi
Are you eating a lot of white rice? Now that the prices of imported white rice in Malaysia have gone up, do you think you can reduce the amount of rice you consume every day?
Now, how much rice do you consume each day and how often do you eat it? Once, twice or even thrice daily?
I guess the answer depends on your age, your job and your race. You probably eat a lot of rice if you are young and still growing up, if you are a manual worker and if you come from a traditional Chinese family.
Yes, for a traditional Chinese family, no meal is complete without rice. Many will even have porridge for breakfast.
Do you know that rice is a source of protein and contains various vitamins, such as thiamin and niacin, and minerals, such as zinc and phosphorus?
According to a site I goggled on the Internet, although white rice is not the healthiest food option, it does provide carbohydrates for energy as well as some essential vitamins and minerals, such as thiamine, selenium and manganese. One of its most notable nutrients, folate, can help in heart health.
However, although it is good to eat, do you know that eating white rice in excess on a daily basis can lead to type 2 diabetes and obesity? Hence, the need for you to maintain a balanced diet; your diet should ideally consist of a variety of different types of food and providing adequate amounts of nutrients necessary for good health.
Recently, rice importer Padiberas Nasional (BERNAS) announced an increase in the price of imported white rice at all its warehouses nationwide from RM2,350 previously to RM3,200 with immediate effect.
It said the hike was due to factors such as climate change, the weak ringgit, high operating coss and conflicts in the region.
It also said that the adjustment was in line with the latest pricing of imported white rice in the international markets.
BERNAS added that despite the hike, Malaysia’s import prices remained the lowest among Southeast Asian countries.
Following the increase in the price of imported white rice, many food operators have quietly raised their menu prices. Instead of raising their selling prices, a few have opted to reduce the serving size of their dishes.
A report by The Star/Asia News Network said Malaysia was not the only country facing a price hike in rice. Key exporting countries including Thailand and Vietnam are also experiencing increasing prices.
This happened after India, the world’s biggest shipper of the grain, banned the export of a variety of rice in July.
In 2022, India had already banned exports of broken rice and imposed a duty of shipments of various grades of rice.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s National Food Agency said the El Nino was expected to affect its domestic rice production, with an estimated drop of around 5 per cent.
The increase in imported white rice prices has prompted Sarawak’s Minister for Food Industry, Commodities and Regional Development Datuk Seri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom to encourage padi farmers in the state to continue cultivating padi on their land instead of abandoning it or switching to other crops.
He urged them to seize this opportunity to enhance their earnings.
Dr Rundi also said that the government was prioritising the modernisation of rice production to ensure food security and industry sustainability.
It was also committed to upgrading and rehabilitating deteriorating farm infrastructure related to irrigation and drainage.
He said the federal government was currently providing a price subsidy (output incentive) of RM500 per metric tonne for padi.
“My ministry is proposing to both the federal and Sarawak governments to consider raising the total payment to padi farmers for modern padi varieties to RM2,000 per metric tonne by injecting more price subsidies,” said Dr Rundi.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations president N. Marimuthu said the government should have programmes to grow rice instead of relying on imports.
He said Malaysia should take advantage of its fertile land to reach self-sufficiency.
Personally, I hope Malaysia or at least Sarawak can become self-sufficient in rice some day.
If the prices of white rice suddenly become very expensive, what will ordinary folk, like my family and I, eat?
Will we have to adjust our eating habits by switching from rice to other more easily available carbohydrates such as tapioca, sweet potatoes and sago starch?
Long ago, my late maternal grandmother told me she and her family ate these during the Japanese Occupation in Sarawak when rice was scarce. I sincerely hope I don’t have to undergo such experiences myself.
