KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Plantation and Commodities (KPK) is of the opinion that the standardisation of commodity prices in the market is impractical to implement because it involves high costs for the government and is feared to affect the efficiency of a market.
For the oil palm sector, the price of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) is subject to the price of crude palm oil and palm kernel in the market.
“The cost of transport from the farm to the factory and the imposition of taxes by the state government also contribute to the price difference between the peninsula and Sabah and Sarawak.
“Therefore, the government has no plan to implement FFB pricing in the market and is more focused on implementing a strategy to strengthen palm oil prices to ensure that entrepreneurs receive a reasonable income,“ the ministry said in a reply on March 5 posted on Parliament’s website.
The KPK said this in response to a question from Datuk Jonathan Yasin (GRS-Ranau) regarding the steps taken by the ministry so that rubber and other commodities are sold at a uniform price in Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia.
Touching on the rubber sector, KPK said that as an export-oriented commodity, its selling price is influenced by world demand and supply.
“With a contribution of only around 3.3 per cent to the total world production, it is difficult for Malaysia to influence the market price of natural rubber and implement measures to standardise rubber prices in the country.
“Thus, the ministry through the Malaysian Rubber Board is more focused on ensuring a reasonable income among entrepreneurs through the implementation of the Rubber Production Incentive,“ he explained.-Bernama
