KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 9): Much ado has been reported about the stock and price of white rice in Malaysia since July 20 when the world’s biggest supplier, India, announced it would stop all its non-white basmati exports with immediate effect.
Prices soared as consumers feared they would run out of thi
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 Much ado has been reported about the stock and price of white rice in Malaysia since July 20 when the world’s biggest supplier, India, announced it would.
Published on: Sunday, May 09, 2021
By: Gamaliel Kan
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A paddy field in Kota Belud.
THE paddy and rice industry is one of the most assisted and insulated industries in Malaysia. Protectionist measures such as utilising a state trading enterprise (STE) Bernas (Padiberas Nasional Bhd) to be the single gatekeeper for rice imports, price controls and subsidies have effectively sheltered the industry from market realities.
This has prevented it from evolving into an industry that is dynamic, open and competitive. In the pursuit of protecting farmers’ income and spurring production, billions of ringgit of taxpayers’ money are being poured into this industry every year. Nonetheless, such high levels of spending have neither significantly improved farmers’ productivity nor their welfare.