PUTRAJAYA: The government will soon decide whether to extend the local white rice (BPT) subsidy scheme beyond August, says Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu (pic).
The Agriculture and Food Security Minister said it will be discussed at the National Action Council on Cost of Living (Naccol), which is chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“A final decision will be made after discussions with Naccol. We expect to reach it in the near future,” he told reporters after attending the ministry’s monthly assembly held in conjunction with the National Day celebration yesterday.
The BPT subsidy scheme, which runs from March 1 to Aug 31, involves the distribution of 2.4 million bags of 10kg subsidised local white rice priced at RM26 each across Peninsular Malaysia.
The scheme targets 400,000 low-income and hardcore poor households, with each household initially limited to two bags. To improve access, the purchase limit has since been raised to five bags per household.
On another note, Mohamad said the Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agro-Tourism Exhibition (Maha 2026) is expected to be the largest yet, with five million visitors targeted following the strong response at Maha 2024.
He said the exhibition will not only showcase agriculture’s commercial potential but also encourage more youth to take up farming as a main source of income.
Maha 2024 drew over 5.5 million visitors to the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang last September, generating RM48.5mil in direct sales.
At the assembly, ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Isham Ishak said demand for subsidised rice has been lower than expected despite earlier complaints of shortages.
“We need to assess whether this is due to political sentiment, dietary changes or simply consumer preference.
“What is clear is that the quality of our local white rice is very good and we want to optimise production to ensure stable supply,” he said.
He said stocks are still available, with purchase limits recently raised from two bags to five per household.
“With the price fixed at RM26, B40 households need not worry about access to rice. Supplies are sufficient,” he said.
