KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 — The government is expected to announce an increase in the paddy purchase floor price next week, along with additional subsidies to mitigate the impact on consumers.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu would table a ministerial paper to announce and clarify the floor price increase.
“The rise in the floor price will inevitably lead to an increase in rice prices for consumers. Our challenge is to balance this – while the price of paddy rises for farmers, we do not want to burden consumers,” he said.
“I have already discussed this with the Ministry of Finance to ensure the government will cover the subsidy, preventing an increase in local rice prices for consumers. The government will allocate an additional RM150 million over the next six months to support this effort, and the details will be finalised soon,” he said during Ministerial Question Time at the Dewan Rakyat.
Anwar was replying to a supplementary question from Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee (PN-Beluran), who had raised the issue of paddy farmers’ demand to raise the paddy purchase floor price to RM1,800 per metric tonne.
In 2023, the government raised the paddy purchase floor price to RM1,300 per metric tonne, up from RM1,200 per metric tonne, where it had remained since 2014.
However, on Jan 27, the Pertubuhan Persaudaraan Pesawah Malaysia (PeSAWAH), an association representing paddy farmers, urged the government to consider increasing the paddy floor price further, from RM1,300 per tonne to RM1,800.
Anwar, who is also the finance minister, acknowledged the issue and said that he had reviewed the memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), in addition to discussing it with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
He also slammed the opposition for attempting to undermine the government’s efforts to assist paddy farmers by raising the floor price. Anwar pointed out that during their tenure in government, the opposition had failed to take similar action.
“Don’t deny it, this is the truth. You made noise, but when you were in power, you didn’t raise the floor price of paddy. We are the ones who raised it,” he said.
He stressed that the government must strike a balance, acknowledging both the needs of consumers and the livelihoods of paddy farmers, particularly as many in the B40 group face financial difficulties. — Bernama
