The recent surge in the price of imported rice in Malaysia has led consumers to switch to lower-priced local products, squeezing the budgets of households struggling to afford higher food prices。

It is reported that as local rice can only meet 70% of domestic demand, the Malaysian government has begun to implement a plan to increase local rice production.。

Today, the shelves of many supermarkets and small grocery stores are often empty, as 5kg and 10kg bags of local rice are snapped up by customers as soon as they hit the shelves。

Ameer Ali Mydin, general manager of Mydin, a large supermarket chain, said the shortage was caused by the widening price gap between local and imported rice.。"Shortages happen because people are panicking about this price gap.。In the case of panic buying and hoarding, everyone buys an extra bag or two of rice, and if hundreds of thousands of people buy just one more bag, the inventory is reduced a lot.。"

In Malaysia, local rice is a regulated food and its price is capped at 10 kg / 26 ringgit (about 5.54 USD)。Before the recent rise in global rice prices, the price of imported rice was usually higher than that of local rice.。The country mainly imports rice from India, Pakistan, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.。

However, on September 1, a Malaysian rice distribution group, Padiberas Nasional (Bernas), raised the retail price of imported rice by 36% to reflect the recent rise in global rice prices, leading to a surge in demand for lower-priced local rice.。At present, the price of 10kg imported rice is between 30-70 ringgit。

In August this year, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's rice price index reached 142.4, up 31% from a year earlier, due to global rice shortages and India's rice export ban from July。

Kumaran, a 57-year-old construction worker, said when shopping at a supermarket in Subang Jaya at the end of September: "You can't buy local rice at all in the supermarket, and if you go on like this, everyone will be affected.。"

Vani, a 54-year-old housewife, lamented: "All the cheap local rice in the supermarket has been robbed.。She also said that her family's monthly food expenditure had increased by 20-30 per cent to around 100 ringgit, as more money had to be spent on biscuits and cooking oil.。

The dry weather brought by El Niño has also affected local rice production this year.。Some restaurants and stall owners are suffering higher costs to stay competitive, but they have also warned they may have to raise prices if the crisis continues.。

In this context, the Malaysian government has recently introduced measures to deal with。

On September 25, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Safety Chan Foong Hin told parliament that the government was pushing ahead with projects to increase production in large-scale rice paddies in several states, hoping to boost output from an average of five tons per hectare to seven tons.。

He added, "The government has launched a new initiative to increase rice production and the income of rice farmers, planting rice in five seasons within two years to increase production, with the goal of reaching 80% national rice self-sufficiency by 2030.。Traditionally, Malaysian rice farmers usually grow two crops of rice a year.。

In addition, the government plans to develop new rice seedlings that can be harvested in 75 days and are more resistant to extreme weather and pests。

Fakhrurrazi Rashid, a senior analyst at the Merdeka Center, a local think tank, believes the current crisis is a good opportunity for the Malaysian government to re-examine its entire food security policy framework.。

He said: "Because we have been relying on imported rice to meet domestic demand, this price volatility is likely to trigger widespread panic, with lower-income groups being more affected.。"Instead of waiting for a crisis to occur before taking action, the government should provide a clearer communication program as a reassurance to its citizens."。"