Smallholders look to Putrajaya to raise price of rubber

 

The National Association of Smallholders Malaysia says many will be scrambling to tap rubber if the price of the commodity can be increased to RM4 per kg from the present RM2.90.

PETALING JAYA: The National Association of Smallholders Malaysia has called on Putrajaya to look into the low prices of rubber, saying smallholders’ income was disproportionate to the current cost of living.

According to Bernama, the group’s deputy president, Adzmi Hassan, said the commodity’s prices were too low for them to make a decent living.

He acknowledged that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his government had their sights on lowering the cost of living for all Malaysians, but said one-off aid measures were insufficient for them.

“There needs to be a way to raise the price of rubber as well,” Adzmi said.

On proposals to use rubber as one of the materials in building roads, he said this would be good for smallholders if it would increase demand for rubber, thus raising its prices.

“If the price of rubber can be increased to RM4 per kg, there will be many tappers scrambling to tap rubber. They (tappers) are less enthusiastic with the current rubber price of around RM2.90,” he said.

In Budget 2023, the government allocated RM350 million to raise the rubber production incentive level. It also increased the monsoon season aid from RM600 to RM800 for all smallholders.

This involves about 320,000 smallholders and RM256 million in funds. - FMT