Paying the Price. Why?

IN EARLY April I had got wind of the impending price increase of rice. The rice retailer whom I regularly patronized had then informed of a shortage in supply. True enough, 2 weeks later, the retail price of the rice I usually buy had gone up by 50 cents to RM5 per kilo. Two weeks ago, it ballooned to RM5.50. The retailer believes the price will increase further.

Let’s move on to the main gist. We all know that rice is the staple food for our country’s 27 million people. Malaysia presently produces 65 to 70% of its rice needs.

Agriculture and Agro-Based Minister Mustapa Mohamed has called on the people to reduce rice consumption to address the global increase in prices and acute shortage of staple foods. "Each adult Malaysian consumes a per capita average of 77 kg of rice per annum. So there is room for a reduction by substituting it with a greater intake of vegetables and an emphasis on a health-conscious diet," he said.

Easier said than done! This is especially true for those in the lower income bracket. Granted it is healthy to consume more greenies, vegetables are not an ideal substitute. A better game plan is needed.

The next point is I am disappointed that our elected government had not anticipated the imminent global shortage of food commodities. If it did, the relevant ministries had obviously not acted in a proactive and efficient manner to counter it. Indeed, it’d not have been caught with its pants down where our country’s rice stockpile is concerned. If it had read the signals, steps would have been taken to steadily increase the stockpile to a higher level, and thus avoided having to hastily import 500,000 tonnes from Thailand to ensure a sufficient stockpile.

A Bernama report (21/4/08) says that Malaysia imports about 480,000 tonnes of rice annually from Thailand. Vietnam is the other country which exports a large amount of rice to Malaysia.

According to The Star (25/4/08), Malaysia imports 650,000 to 700,000 tonnes of rice yearly to satisfy annual needs of more than 2 million tonnes. The same report says rice prices in Thailand surged to US$1,000 a tonne the previous day, nearly three times higher than at the start of 2008.

The New Straits Times (9/5/08) gives a different figure of our rice import, saying that Bernas, Malaysia's sole rice importer, bought 831,000 tonnes from overseas suppliers in 2006, more than half of it from Thailand.

Let’s put the figures aside. On 19 April 2008, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawai announced a RM4 billion allocation to increase food production, including a plan to grow padi on a massive scale in Sarawak amid fears of shortages caused by the global food crisis. The funds allocated for the plan would also be used to build food stockpiles and increase cultivation of fruits and vegetables.

The PM said the government would ensure the country was self-sufficient in rice. This talk about about self-sufficiency in rice is not a new thing. Back in January 2004, Felcra chairman Hamzah Zainuddin expressed that Malaysia would be able to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production by 2007 “provided farmers incorporate the latest farming technologies in padi cultivation”. To meet the 2007 target, farmers must double the production of the crop from the current national average of 4.5 tonnes per hectare per season. Each season lasts 6 months.

Rice is now a highly priced commodity as precious as crude oil.