Thursday August 28, 2008
Higher subsidies for rice producers
THE Government will increase subsidies for rice producers to ensure sufficient supply of rice with 15% broken content for the coming fasting month and Hari Raya celebrations.
Public Accounts Committee chairman Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid said the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry and Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas) had agreed to increase the subsidies to overcome the shortage of rice.
He said the Government had said that the supply of broken rice would increase three-fold by September to meet the demand of the festive season.
“The demand for rice with 15% broken content is 2.17 million tonnes but the production is only 250,000 tonnes. The Government has agreed to increase the subsidy to the factories to lower the cost of producing the 15% broken rice content,” he told a press conference after chairing a meeting with the ministry officials and Bernas.
Azmi said the demand for the rice had increased by 50% following the increase in the price of rice but there was no increase in supply.
The factories, he said, were reluctant to produce rice with 15% broken content as the cost was higher than the retail price.
On another matter, Azmi said the PAC had urged the ministry to ensure that farmers were involved in marketing their crops so as to increase the income of the farmers.
Azmi said that PAC had called on the ministry to educate farmers to use organic fertilisers instead of chemical-based ones.
“If we continue using chemical fertilisers, it will damage our environment and the cost of rehabilitation will be much higher.”
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