PUTRAJAYA - Any proposal to break the rice monopoly needs to be discussed with relevant ministries and agencies before a decision is made.
Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM) Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu said the government is bound by an agreement with Padiberas Nasional Berhad (Bernas) for 10 years, from Jan 11, 2021 to Jan 10, 2031.
"If an overhaul is to be carried out, it must be through discussions involving the Economy Ministry, the Finance Ministry, and the Prime Minister's Department (JPM) because rice is a matter of food security," he said at a press conference after officiating the 25th Annual Irrigation and Drainage Conference.
He said the proposal needs to be looked at comprehensively, including strong reasons to break the rice monopoly.
"This is a matter that needs to be paid attention to, and at the same time, the issue of 'sustainable' also needs to be taken into account," he said.
He is confident that the cabinet will make recommendations or changes from time to time.
"The Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) is really taking this matter seriously.
"In the past, it was chicken and eggs, and now we have to deal with rice because of the sudden and high increase in the price of imported rice.
"It happens all over the world, not only in Malaysia," he said.
On Monday, Perikatan Nasional (PN) Youth Deputy Chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad said the government has two options: either to implement a complete monopoly or to create an open market to increase the supply of local rice in the market.
Mohamad also said the issue and local rice supply will be brought to the cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
"I want to see the agenda (cabinet meeting first), but I will present new things that happened (related to the rice issue) that I will present in the cabinet," he explained.
Meanwhile, Mohamad once again advised consumers not to continue making panic purchases to disrupt the supply of rice.
He said the ministry received many complaints on the matter.
"Buy according to the family's normal consumption," he said.
When asked about areas where panic buying took place, he said: "Mostly in villages; for example, in Pokok Sena, as many as 2,000 packs of rice were sold out within an hour and a half; there were not even 2,000 customers," he said.
KPKM's Director General of Rice and Rice Management, Datuk Azman Mahmood, was previously reported to have said that the shortage of local white rice (BPT) in the country is due to increased demand following the increase in the price of imported rice.
India, which is known as the world's largest grain exporter with a global market share of 40 per cent, imposed an export ban on non-basmati white rice.
The move came after retail rice prices rose three percent last month, in addition to heavy monsoon rains causing massive damage to crops.