KOTA BELUD: State Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Junz Wong today blamed the difference in gas prices between Sabah and the peninsula for the lower pay of rubber smallholders in the state.
He said smallholders were made to foot the extra costs, aside from the higher cost of logistics which pushed farm prices down.
Gas is used by manufacturers to process rubber and therefore falls under processing costs.
Wong said the Sabah Rubber Industries Board (SRIB) had been charged RM48.18/BTU (British Thermal Unit) from January to May this year while prices in the peninsula from January to June were RM32.38/BTU.
“This was the policy set by the previous Barisan Nasional government,” he added. “This is unfair to us.”
According to Wong, SRIB’s average monthly payment from January to May was around RM103,609.
“Sabah has contributed much to the federal revenue from gas production, but we are charged more compared to Peninsular Malaysia,” he told reporters during the handover of monsoon season aid in Taginambur here.
Wong said smallholders in the state could have saved more if the price of gas was standardised across the country.
“If the price had been the same as in the peninsula, SRIB would only have paid RM73,381 per month – savings of RM30,228.”
He added that SRIB had had to pay 2.5% more since June 19 due to the increase in price of gas from RM48.18/BTU to RM49.38/BTU.
He said his ministry is working with its federal counterpart to obtain a fair price for those in the Sabah rubber industry. - FMT
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