Rice flour may see shortage soon

PETALING JAYA: Domestic rice flour manufacturers are experiencing a shortage of broken rice.They are urging the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry to assist in preventing a rice flour product shortage.

Bee Hoon Manufacturers Association of Malaysia president Datuk Ang Cho Teing said the current stockpile of rice flour was sufficient to cover the next two weeks of production.

“But if the shortage of raw materials persists, we may be forced to halt production,” he said.According to him, the global agricultural harvest failure this year had caused the price of broken rice to spike, making it difficult for rice flour manufacturers to obtain adequate supply.

He said Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas), the main supplier of broken rice in Malaysia, did not import broken rice at the beginning of this year due to the increase in international prices and lower profits.

He said rice flour manufacturers were also facing difficulties in obtaining quality broken rice directly from other countries, as they were required to go through Bernas, resulting in increased costs and potential manipulation.

The association called on the government to address these issues and provide aid to ensure a steady supply of raw materials for their production process.

He said broken rice supply from Bernas had dropped from 100 tonnes per month to just 10 tonnes.

“Manufacturers require 6,000 tonnes per month. Our members supply 90% of the local demand,” he said, adding that the rice harvesting season was supposed to begin in January, but manufacturers were still waiting for supplies.

“We submitted a memorandum to the government to assist manufacturers because there is still a shortage of broken rice supply.

“In the memorandum, we requested Bernas to sell 2,000 tonnes of broken rice to the association for emergency supplies.”

He said the price of broken rice had been adjusted with local broken rice increasing from RM1,450 per tonne to RM1,950 per tonne and imported broken rice prices at RM2,250 per tonne.

Broken rice is mainly used to produce mee hoon, noodles and kuey teow.

Malaysian Bakery, Biscuit, Confectionery, Mee and Kuay Teow Merchants Association deputy president Lai Yee Kein said the association was aware of the broken rice shortage, but had not been impacted for the time being as it had a longstanding relationship with its suppliers.

He said due to the poor market, his production had been reduced by 30%.

“The supplier did inform us that the price of broken rice will be raised shortly, but it is not yet known when,” he added.

A rice trader, who did not wish to be named, said the poor rice crop this season had led to a shortage of broken rice.

“Imported broken rice has also dropped because Thailand and India have reduced their exports, which has led to a shortage of broken rice,” he said.

Recently, Deputy Agriculture and Food Security Minister Chan Foong Hin received a visit from the representatives of the Bee Hoon Manufacturers Association whereby a memorandum detailing the challenges faced by its manufacturers in obtaining raw materials for their products had been submitted.

Chan said the ministry would invite Bernas to discuss the matter further.