El Nino hits rice industry

Contingency plans: With El Nino hitting the countries rice is imported from, the government may have to seek alternatives. — Bernama

PETALING JAYA: El Nino is already taking its toll on the country’s padi harvests, and with a global rice shortage looming, Malaysia is looking at importing more rice to meet domestic demand.

The scorching weather brought on by the El Nino phenomenon has already affected the rice planting season and harvest in Kedah, the main rice producer in the country along with Selangor.

The harvest in Kedah, scheduled from July to August, has reportedly been delayed to October, with 20% lower production. Padi from Perak, Kelantan, Pahang, and Selangor may now have to compensate for the shortfall in Kedah.

More rice may have to be imported, too.

The country already imports rice from Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, India and Pakistan but with El Nino hitting many of these countries, the government may have to seek other source nations.

Thailand has traditionally been the major rice exporter to Malaysia, but that country is reportedly drawing up contingency plans to deal with a severe drought that might last years and reduce the world rice supply.

“If Thailand is hit by natural disasters, we may import from India and Pakistan,” said Agriculture and Food Industry Ministry Padi Industry Development Division director-general Datuk Azman Mahmood.

Pakistan’s harvest, too, has been affected by massive floods in the country.

“The lower ringgit also means higher prices for imported rice. To meet local demand, the government will seek cheaper rice. Importing from India and Pakistan may be cheaper,” said Azman.

However, he emphasised that imported rice accounts for only 35% of the overall rice volume, with local rice accounting for the remaining 65%.

He explained that the harvest season varies from state to state but “there is no need to be concerned about rice shortages.”

The import of rice – at higher prices – has brought with it a new set of problems. Some rice wholesalers are allegedly attempting to manipulate the control price set by the government by changing the rice bag labels.

They transfer local rice into packages meant for imported ones and sell them at higher prices. The price of local rice is set at RM26 per 10kg but the price of imported rice is not controlled.

However, there may also be cases where some traders sell cheap imported rice as local rice.

“Such a situation can affect the rice-growing industry in Malaysia and result in many farmers not cultivating rice,” he added.