Illustration photo. (Source: Internet))Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - The Malaysian government spends a total of 2.2 billion RM (about 523 million USD) a year to assist rice farmers, said the country’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Tajuddin Abdul Rahman.
Tajuddin said the incentives include the provision of seeds, fertilisers, rice price subsidies and other assistance.
Accordingly, each hectare of paddy is provided with 140 kg of seeds, 16 bags of urea fertiliser and insecticide, with total cost of 560 RM (133 USD).
Apart from that, the government also provides additional fertilisers, such as NPK, foliar, growth enhancer and others.
Rice farmers also enjoy subsidised rice price which is currently at 248 RM (59 USD) per tonne, but beginning next year it will be increased to 300 RM (71 USD) per tonne, he added.
According to the Agrocharts.com, Malaysia’s rice output is forecast to reach 1.81 million tonnes in the 2015-2016 crop.
Annually, the country imports about 1million tonnes of rice, mainly from Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Cambodia.
Last year, Thailand shipped nearly 580,000 tonnes of rice to Malaysia while Vietnam sold to the country 321,000 tonnes.-VNA
