SHAH ALAM – The Selangor government will subsidise the purchase of imported rice through Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas) until the end of this year to ensure a stable supply of the staple food in the state.
State Infrastructure and Agriculture Committee chairman Izham Hashim said the imported rice was bought at a price of RM17 per five kg, and resold to the people at a price of RM13 per five kg under the Jualan Ehsan Rakyat (JER) programme.
“Recently we had a discussion with Bernas, they brought in the imported rice but we are selling it according to the price of local white rice (BPT), which means we are subsidising. We buy for RM17 per five kg but we sell for RM13 which is the ceiling price for BPT,” he said.
“We are repacking this imported rice to be sold under the JER programme at four branches of the Selangor Agricultural Development Corporation (PKPS) and other mobile sales since last week,” he told the media after the 2024 Agricultural Census Retreat Session with Selangor-level agencies, today.
He said that although the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM) expects the supply of the staple food to be stable within the next two to three weeks, the state government is prepared to cover the purchase subsidy for another two to three months to ensure the supply is really sufficient. – September 27, 2023