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Shortage of local rice in Malaysia due to diseases and lack of clean water
(www.straitstimes.com)
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this post was submitted on 09 Sep 2023
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Malaysian Food
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UPDATED SEP 8, 2023, 4:36 PM SGT
KLANG - Initially, there was a limited supply of locally produced rice in supermarkets and grocery stores.
Now, that supply has dwindled to almost nothing, and is hitting consumers where it hurts the most – their pockets.
This drastic turn of events is forcing consumers to buy imported rice, which is more expensive than locally produced rice.
Grocery store owners and rice distributors say it has been some time since they last received stocks of the price-controlled, locally produced variety.
Mr C. Ramu, who owns and runs a grocery store in Taman Sri Andalas in Klang, Selangor, said that his three rice distributors have stopped sending him local rice.
“Two of them told me in early August that they cannot supply local rice any more and the third distributor gave me 20 bags in the middle of August and said that was all he had,” he said.
He is now receiving only imported rice, which retails at RM33 (S$9.60) for a 10kg bag, but his distributors have warned him that the price could soon increase.
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“The price of imported rice is not controlled, so it can just spiral,” he said.
Rice distributor Osman Abdul Rahman said he has not received local rice from his main supplier since early August.
He said that he now has only imported rice, adding that such rice should make up only 30 per cent of what he sells, “with the remaining 70 per cent being rice produced by local farmers... That is how it was before”.
The general assumption about the shortage is that the demand for locally produced rice has surpassed the available supply, but padi farmers have a different story to tell.
Padi farmer Yap Kang Pua from Sekinchan town in Selangor said the shortage was due to a drastically reduced yield. He added that one of the reasons behind this was the dirty water used to irrigate padi fields.
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“Our yield is very bad because we have to pump water from the nearby waterways into the fields, but the water from this source is contaminated,” he said, explaining that this caused many plants to die before reaching maturity.
He said that the problem of the shortage of clean water for the padi fields first took root almost a decade ago, and has escalated to the current situation.
He added that the only solution was for the relevant authorities to tap underground water and build a covered storage area for farmers to water their fields.
Another Sekinchan padi farmer, Mr Mohd Asri Badron, said that seeds given to farmers are of poor quality, causing them to succumb to diseases such as bacterial leaf streak disease (BLS), bacterial leaf blight (BLB) and bacterial panicle blight (BPB).
In comparison, the hybrid seeds used by farmers in most other regional rice-producing nations are “sturdier and can fight infection better”, he said. He expressed hope that these seeds could also be made available to Malaysian padi farmers.
To counter bacterial infection to increase yield, Mr Asri said, padi farmers must spend additional money to buy and use organic fertiliser and products to cultivate good bacteria. “Cultivating good bacteria to battle the destructive BLS, BLB or BPB can be helpful in increasing yield,” he added.
The president of the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations, Datuk Marimuthu Nadason, said the government must realise that rice is the main staple food in Malaysia.
“Since there is a shortage here, the government must source new markets so that Malaysia will have the bargaining power to negotiate better pricing,” he said, adding that Malaysia is importing rice from the same few markets and not shopping around for cheaper alternatives.
He also suggested that the government could expand padi cultivation by using available idle land to plant rice.
Sekinchan assemblyman and Selangor executive councillor Ng Suee Lim said the authorities must monitor the distribution chain because of suspicions that local rice is being packaged and sold as the imported variety.
“There is a syndicate behind this, and when they repackage local rice and sell it as an imported product, they will be selling it for between RM33 and RM35, which is higher than the RM26 price set for 10kg of local rice,” he said. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
3 months ago on Benar News
Malaysian farmers reel from dry fields, income loss during heat wave
Iman Muttaqin Yusof and Ili Shazwani2023.06.02Kuala Lumpur📷
Surizan Romli has fallen well behind in planting her first rice crop of the year because a heat wave and dry spell have scorched Perlis, her home state, and other parts of Malaysia.
She and other farmers in the rice-growing belt of northern Peninsular Malaysia said they’re feeling the negative effects from above-normal temperatures and scarce rainfall driven by El Niño weather patterns, which meteorologists have observed during the current Southwest monsoon.
“We should have started planting in April, but in Padang Siding, Perlis, the majority of rice fields are not involved in irrigation supplied by the agricultural department, and we rely solely on rainwater,” Surizan, who works full-time as a teacher and part-time as a rice farmer, told BenarNews.
“We haven’t even started planting yet, and by now we should have been waiting for harvest. It has been delayed for two months. Normally, we have two seasons in a year, but with this situation, we can only have one season.”
The heat wave and dry spell have lasted weeks with no immediate let-up in sight, raising concerns about food production, water scarcity as well as the potential harm to people’s health in this Southeast Asian nation.
Although Malaysia is a tropical country, some districts have recorded unusually high temperatures during three consecutive days ranging from 35 to 37 degrees Celsius (95 to 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit), prompting authorities to issue health warnings.
“The hotter and drier weather experienced from June to October 2023 is directly attributed to the El Niño phenomenon,” Muhammad Helmi Abdullah, director-general of the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MET Malaysia), told BenarNews.
“Typically, El Niño conditions in Malaysia can elevate temperatures by approximately 1.0º C to 2.0º C compared to normal conditions.”
El Niño, a natural phenomenon caused by significant increases in sea surface temperatures recorded in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, disrupts global wind patterns that affect weather in various regions worldwide including Southeast Asia, according to experts.
In May, Petteri Taalas, secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), warned that this global weather event would have far-reaching repercussions for health, food security, water management and the environment.
Lost income
Farmers in Perlis and Kedah, Malaysia’s most productive rice-growing states, are among those hit hardest during the heat wave.
Ayuni Amil, another rice farmer from Perlis, said she had seen a huge reduction in income as a result.
“We have lost about 3,000 ringgit (U.S. $655) because we missed one season. The harvested yield should have been used to fund my children’s school supplies,” she told BenarNews.
Because of the El Niño effect, Ayuni said her family would have to wait until August before they could plant again – but only if the weather improves and the rains come.
“Then, another six months before the paddy is ready for harvest. Which means, I will only get my next income next year,” she said.
There are more than 57,600 paddy farmers living in Perlis and Kedah, according to the Muda Agricultural Development Authority (MADA), a government agency serving both states.
In a statement issued on Friday, MADA said it was closely monitoring data from the Meteorological Department and keeping an eye on water levels at local dams. For the time being, the dams are holding enough water to irrigate the paddy fields under its jurisdiction, MADA said.
“As a precautionary measure, MADA will utilize the recycling pump station in order to save water from the dam beside the usage of mobile pumps. This method will help to reduce water losses during hot weather,” the agency said.
man-water.jpg
A man quenches his thirst with water under a hot sun in Kuala Lumpur, June 2, 2023. [S. Mahfuz/BenarNews]
At the federal level, the National Water Services Commission said it was dealing with the weather crisis, such as by setting up a dedicated war room to monitor the water situation at dams and water treatment plants.
“This proactive measure aims to ensure early detection and preparedness for any severe water shortages. As of now, water levels in the dams remain relatively stable, with no significant drops anticipated in the coming month,” said the commission’s Charles Santiago.
Previously, media reports had indicated that two dams in Penang, another northern state, were approaching critical levels caused by the lack of rainfall in the catchment areas and the prolonged heat wave.
The extreme heat has also been linked to fatalities. In April, two children from Kelantan state, aged 19 months and 11 years old, died from heatstroke and dehydration, officials said.
“The extremely high temperatures can lead to a wide spectrum of heat-related illnesses, such as heat rash, heat cramps, heat syncope, heat exhaustion and heatstroke. Heatstroke, if not promptly treated, can result in permanent disability and death,” Rozita Hod, who heads the Department of Public Health Medicine at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, told BenarNews.
Despite being accustomed to living in a hot country in the tropics, Malaysians must avoid prolonged exposure to the searing sun, she said.
https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/malaysian/heat-wave-06022023132714.html
Global rice prices hit 15-year high after India curbs - Supply-chain players held onto stockpiles amid uncertainties over the ban’s length and export limit concerns.
Supply-chain players held onto stockpiles amid uncertainties over the ban’s length and export limit concerns.
AFP - 08 Sep 2023, 5:51pm 35 Shares facebook sharing button Sharetwitter sharing button Tweetwhatsapp sharing button Shareemail sharing button Email
While worldwide food prices fell in August, rice prices jumped 9.8% from the previous month. (Bernama pic) PARIS: Global rice prices reached a 15-year high in August after top exporter India banned some overseas sales of the grain, the Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday.
While global food prices eased in August, those of rice rose 9.8% compared to the previous month, “reflecting trade disruptions in the aftermath of a ban on Indica white rice exports by India”, the FAO said in a monthly report.
Stay up-to-date by following FMT's Telegram channel “Uncertainty about the ban’s duration and concerns over export restrictions caused supply-chain actors to hold on to stocks, re-negotiate contracts or stop making price offers, thereby limiting most trade to small volumes and previously concluded sales,” it said.
Rice is a major world food staple and prices on international markets have soared in the wake of the Covid pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the impact of the El Nino weather phenomenon on production levels.
Indian announced in July a ban on exports of non-basmati white rice, which accounts for around a quarter of its total.
The consumer affairs and food ministry said at the time that the move would “ensure adequate availability” and “allay the rise in prices in the domestic market”.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/business/2023/09/08/global-rice-prices-hit-15-year-high-after-india-curbs/