KEPALA BATAS – There is a local rice cartel involving four to five companies in this country which acts to control the buying and selling of rice, leading to a shortage of the staple food in the market and an increase in prices.
National Action Council on Cost of Living (Naccol) Task Force (Food Cluster) chairman Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal said the information was obtained from engagement sessions with rice farmers, millers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers.
Therefore, Syed Abu Hussin said he will present the matter at the Naccol meeting on March 20 so that the government can take serious action against the companies involved.
“These companies control up to 80% of the local rice market. The cartel buys rice at a high price of up to RM1,850 per tonne of rice and then raises the price of rice.
“In fact, some of these companies sell local rice in imported rice packages, this is a cartel action that causes an unstable ecosystem of rice and rice prices,” he told reporters after attending the Northern Zone Madani Activists Breaking Fast Ceremony at the Penang Golf Resort, here tonight.
Syed Abu Hussin, who is also the MP for Bukit Gantang, said that the findings also showed that the cartel was influencing rice farmers by offering higher rice prices and at the same time putting pressure on consumers with the increased rice prices.
He said he will also present at the Naccol meeting a proposal to grant a subsidy of RM200 to rice farmers for every tonne of rice sold to millers so that local rice can be sold at a price of RM30 for a 10-kg bag of rice. – March 16, 2024