'Take ownership of Bernas,' Wangsa Maju MP tells govt

 

The government needs to take ownership of Padiberas Nasional Berhad (Bernas) to ensure that there is an adequate supply of rice and stable price hikes.

In a statement today, Wangsa Maju MP Tan Yee Kew said the government should no longer rely on Bernas, a private company to aid in increasing local rice production.

“Bernas is a private company. The irony is that Bernas, which makes its huge profit by having a monopoly in rice import, is tasked to help promote local rice production.

“The fact is that the lesser the local rice, the more Bernas can import and the bigger their profit. Therefore, we cannot expect Bernas with its present ownership to help promote local rice production.

“Right now, the prices of rice both import and local produce are virtually decided by Bernas, a profit-oriented private company.

“If the government is serious about self-sufficiency in rice and controlling price hike in rice, it must regain its control on import rice, take back from Bernas the management of subsidy to farmers and the procurement of rice from farmers,” said Tan.

Wangsa Maju MP Tan Yee Kew

According to Tan, Malaysia is likely to face shortages of rice and price hikes as prices have been on a continued rise for the fifth successive month in May 2022.

She said according to the All-Rice Index from the Food and Agriculture Organization, rice export prices have risen as a result of shortages of petroleum, fertilisers, wheat and food caused by the Ukraine-Russia war.

When the war prolongs, the prices are expected to increase. Countries which depend on imported rice to supplement their local production are almost certainly to face a shortage of supply and price hikes.

“The annual requirement of rice for Malaysians is 2.5 million metric tonnes. The country's rice production is around 70 percent while the remaining 30 percent relies on imports to meet the demand.

“When the war prolongs, we will have to face not just the increase of prices of rice but also the shortage of supply in the market,” she said. - Mkini