KOTA KINABALU: Consumers are still worried that the price of local rice will increase despite the announcement by the government that only imported white rice will cost more.
Sabah West Coast Smart Consumers Association president David Chan said the government must be proactive in controlling the price of local rice and urged for subsidies to continue.
"Although the government has shot down (talk) there will be a price hike (for local white rice), many consumers are concerned it will become a reality due to the rising cost of living," he said here on Tuesday (Sept 5) and urged the Domestic Trade and Cost Of Living Ministry to look into the matter.
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Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had on Sunday (Sept 3) rebuked government critics, saying that local white rice had not increased in price.
He said the government would continue to cap the price of local white rice at RM2.60 per kg – the lowest in the region – and only the price of imported rice had increased.
"We cannot control the price of imported white rice but we say the price of (locally grown) rice that locals eat cannot be increased. That is our decision," Anwar said at a ceramah in Sungai Abong in Johor on Sunday night.
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Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas) announced that the price of imported white rice had increased by 36% to RM3,200 from RM2,350 per metric tonne from last Friday (Sept 1).
It was reported that the price increase was driven by, among others, falling harvests in rice-exporting countries due to climate change and a weakening ringgit.
These factors were also compounded by the ban on exports by India, the world's largest rice exporter.
Meanwhile, Putatan Warisan Wanita chief Juriah Uda said that the price increase of imported white rice would contribute to a hike in price for local rice.
"There will be a rise in demand for local rice. At the same time, rice production in Sabah is insufficient," she said.
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Kota Kinabalu Warisan information chief Samuel Wong claimed that the recent announcement of the price hike for imported white rice triggered panic buying, leading to a rice shortage in supermarkets across Sabah.
He claimed that local rice prices also surged alongside imported rice, leaving many Sabahans struggling to afford the staple food.
Deputy Agriculture and Food Security Minister Chan Foong Hin said on social media on Monday (Sept 4) that there would be no price increase for local rice and that there was ample supply.