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Thursday May 15, 9:59 AM
Malaysia's Bernas Says Rice Shortage in Country Is "Artificial"KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 Asia Pulse - Padiberas Nasional Berhad (Bernas) (KLSE:6866) said Wednesday the present shortage of rice in the country is "rather artificial". Bernas, the custodian of Malaysia's rice industry, said among the reasons for the shortage was profiteering by some quarters who took advantage of the sudden increase in the international rice price by producing the SST (Super Special Tempatan) rice instead of the S15 grade (which contains 15 per cent broken grain).
The price of paddy in Selangor is now around RM1,000 (US$312.50) per metric tonne. "There is no real shortage of rice in the country because the local paddy production remain stable and Bernas had imported more tonnage at about 221,421 metric tonne from January to April this year," a Bernas official told a media briefing. The shortage of the cheaper S15 grade rice occurred because only Bernas produces the price-controlled S15 grade. "The overall increase in the prices of other grades led to the increase in the demand for the controlled grade. Manufacturers of rice vermicelli and other rice-based products had also switched to the controlled grade because of the lower price," Bernas said. Meanwhile Bernas Managing Director Bakry Hamzah said despite the increase in the international price of rice (which currently stood at about US$1,000 or RM3,240 per metric tonne), Bernas was still selling rice at RM1,450 per metric tonne to wholesellers. Although this had resulted in some losses, the company would be keeping the price low so that the local retail price would not be affected too much by the price movement at the international market. He said Bernas was able to do so because it had made forward buying and maintained more than adequate stock. Bakry said the government's decision to allow the price of imported rice to be floated in the local market would enable the company to regain profit. Even with the move, he was confident that Bernas would still be able to sell imported rice to wholesellers below the market price. Bakry hoped that private millers would help put enough supply in the market to help stabilise the situation. He also welcomed the government's move to achieve a higher self-sufficiency level from 72 per cent at the moment to 86 per cent in 2010 and hoped that one day Malaysia would be able to achieve a 100 per cent self-sufficiency in rice production. He said Bernas might also go into paddy cultivation in the future. (BERNAMA-OANA)
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