Price Of Imported White Rice Reduced From December
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The warehouse price of imported white rice in Peninsular Malaysia has been reduced from RM3,000 per tonne to RM2,800 per tonne from December 1.
Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas) has announced this price reduction for imported white rice (BPI) which will take effect in December 2024.
Global white rice price reduction
Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu said in a statement that this decision was reached following recent discussions between the ministry and Bernas.
The main reasons for this price reduction are:
- the ringgit strengthening against the US dollar
- India removing export ban on non-basmati white rice and abolishing export duties
This follows an earlier price reduction in March 2024. BERNAS reduced the BPI price from RM3,200 to RM3,000 per metric tonne back then although global rice prices were at a 15-year high.
Local, imported or mixed white rice
Since March 2024, the government has introduced the Malaysia Madani white rice priced at RM30 for a 10 kg sack. This puts the per kg price at RM3.
However, there has been questions raised about whether it is local white rice, imported white rice or mixed local and imported rice. Previously, the ceiling price of local rice had been set at RM2.60 per kg since 2008. As for imported white rice, it was around RM3.80 per kg until the recent announcement by Bernas.
With the Malaysia Madani white rice pricing, this means there will no longer be local white rice (SST) and imported white rice (SSI) categories.
The announcement by Bernas to reduce the per tonne pricing of imported white rice effective from December 2024 means there should be a decrease of about RM3 per 10kg sack.
