KUALA LUMPUR: The floor price for padi will be standardised from RM1,300 to RM1,500 per metric tonne, effective this Sunday (Feb 16).
Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu said the adjustment takes into account rising labour costs, increased prices of agricultural inputs such as fertilisers and pesticides, as well as the impact on rice production costs, which in turn affect market prices.
He also announced that the price of local white rice would be maintained at RM2.60 per kilogramme, with the government absorbing part of the production cost amounting to approximately RM150 million over a six-month period.
“This is to ensure the availability of around 24 million 10-kg bags of local white rice in the market.
“In this regard, the ministry is currently finalising the implementation mechanism, which will be announced once the details are confirmed soon,“ he said during a briefing on the current situation of the padi and rice industry in the Dewan Rakyat today.
