IS THIS WHY RICE MONOPOLY WAS GIVEN? Syed Mokhtar set to chalk HUGE GAINS as global prices plunge

I refer to the Reuters article dated 19 February 2014 entitled “Thai rice to pour into global markets as subsidy ends”, where was reported that millions of tonnes of Thai rice will be flooded into the international market when the rice Thai government ends it subsidy scheme comes at the end of February 2014.

Under the Thai subsidy scheme introduced in October 2011, farmers were paid 15,000 baht for every tonne of rice sold to the government, and when the subsidy scheme is scraped, most farmers will be forced to sell their paddy in the open market at much lower prices (47% lower) at around 8000 to 9000 baht per tonne. The farmers will also be forced to sell at lower prices due to the lack of available government warehouse facilities to store rice until rice price recovers.

Thai exporters predict that the price of 5% broken rice will drop from USD 375 per tonne (RM1,238 per tonne) to USD350 per tonne (RM1,155 per tonne), the lowest in 7 years. Apart from Thailand, India and Vietnam will also see a drop in their rice prices due to high-yielding harvests.

As a result, Malaysia as a rice importer will enjoy cheaper imported rice. BERNAS will also receive huge profits as a result of low import prices.

This is consistent with Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s media statement dated 12.11.2013 entitled “BERNAS bakal diswastakan: Ketamakan Bermaharajalela” that is that “the profits of BERNAS will increase by 40% to RM165 million in the short term resulting from lower international prices as a result of excess supply of rice from Thailand, Vietnam, India and Pakistan. This will profit whoever owns BERNAS in the future”.

If the price of rice for Malaysians remains unchanged at the old level, BERNAS will stand to reap huge profits, with the sole individual Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar standing to profit the most.

In view of this international market situation, the rice of price in Malaysia should be much lower, and the government ought to ensure this is the case in order to help lighten the rakyat’s burden crused by rising cost of living.

Gooi Hsiao Leung, Member of Parliament for Alor Setar, Kedah PKR Vice Chairman