Don’t Worry, Malaysia Still Has Rice For Everybody

The government has refuted claims that Malaysia’s rice stock would only last for 2 and a half months as the current stock can meet the domestic demand.

Currently, the rice stock at factories, wholesalers and retail outlets stood at 523,000 tonnes – even when not taking into account the stock from local rice production and imported rice.

Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee said for now, rice imports are on-going as usual and added that apart from Vietnam, Malaysia also imports its supply from producing countries such as Thailand, Pakistan, Myanmar, India, Cambodia and others.

He said that only 30% of the total domestic demand depended on imports but the Ministry would ensure the rice supply is sufficient to meet the country’s needs of 200,000 metric tonnes per month.

Recently, Vietnam, the world’s third largest rice exporter took measures such as suspending signing new rice export contracts to ensure domestic supplies are sufficient during the coronavirus outbreak.

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