ALOR STAR: For a moment, padi farmers believed that they could finally heave a sigh of relief as the government was reviewing the ceiling price of white rice.
However, it seems the farmers, who have been under intense pressure following the steep hike of input costs over recent years, will have to wait further as the authorities sort out the matter.
"We were delighted upon learning that the government was setting a new retail price of locally produced rice at RM30 for a 10kg package by March 1," said Che Ani Mat Zain, the chairman of the Muda Agriculture Development Authority (Mada) action committee.
He was referring to the announcement by the National Action Council for Cost of Living (NACCOL) food cluster task force on the Malaysia Madani white rice initiative.
On Wednesday, the task force's chairman Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Faisal announced that the government would introduce the Malaysia Madani white rice priced at RM30 for a 10kg sack on Feb 19.
He was reported as saying that following the move, there will no longer be local white rice (SST) and imported white rice (SSI) categories, adding that the Malaysia Madani white rice will be the sole category.
Padi farmers in Kedah — half of whom are under Mada — collectively contribute the largest chunk in national rice production.
They account for 45 per cent of the cultivation of the country's staple food.
As such, the announcement was music to the ears of the farmers, since the current ceiling price of RM2.60 per kilogramme for locally produced white rice has not been revised for nearly two decades, despite astronomical hikes in input costs particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic.
For the farmers, a revised ceiling price of rice would pave the way for millers to adjust their padi purchasing price upward.
"We do understand that consumers might be unhappy by the hike but at least it may be the solution to the supply crisis of locally produced white rice that remains unresolved since last September," said Che Ani.
"To us, the RM4 increase for the 10kg sack for local white rice is reasonable given the rising input costs over past 18 the years.
"It will be a win-win situation as farmers will be getting a fairer selling price of padi while consumers will get the supply of locally produced white rice."
The farmers, however, were left astounded yesterday when Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu announced that the government has not made any decision on introducing a single category of white rice known under the Malaysia Madani white rice branding.
The New Straits Times reported that analysts have raised their concerns over the poor coordination within the government, which they described as a "loose cannon" that could have effects on governance and the economy in the near future.
They cautioned that such shortcomings could erode public confidence in leadership.
While they eagerly await the government's final decision on the matter, padi farmers in Kedah have another issue to worry about.
According to Che Ani, rumours are rife that rice millers are reducing the purchase price from RM1,600 per metric tonne to RM1,300 beginning Monday.
"Since the harvesting season started about a month ago, rice millers have been buying our padi at RM1,600 per metric tonnes.
"Suddenly, we heard rumours that the rice millers are revising the purchase price to RM1,300 per metric tonnes," he asked.
Che Ani said the farmers are in the dark over the decision but did not rule out the possibility that this coincides with the introduction of the Malaysia Madani white rice, beginning tomorrow as announced by the NACCOL food cluster task force chairman recently.
The move to cut the purchase price, he said, if it goes through, would be devastating to the farmers as they would not be able to cover their high input costs to cultivate the crop.
Che Ani said such a move was unacceptable for farmers in Kedah since rice millers in Negri Sembilan are buying the crop at RM1,600 per metric tonnes while those in Selangor are paying RM1,800 per metric tonne.
Regardless of the reason, said Che Ani, padi farmers under Mada will organise a mass peaceful protest should the rice millers proceed with the move tomorrow.