Malaysia has sufficient food stock to meet demand for the next six months, with rice reserves remaining stable as the government steps up efforts to strengthen food security and support farmers affected by El Niño.
Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu said maintaining a six-month rice stockpile remains a key priority, alongside expanding large-scale paddy farming to boost domestic production.
“Rice remains our main agenda, and we always maintain stocks for around six months. Large-scale paddy cultivation must continue to be encouraged,” he said.
Mohamad said the government continues to provide disaster assistance to paddy farmers affected by drought and extreme weather.
Under Phase 1 of the El Niño aid programme, RM45.24 million from a RM50 million allocation has been disbursed to 8,224 paddy farmers.
For Phase 2, RM38.53 million has been channelled to 55,058 farmers covering 16,933 hectares of farmland affected by drought linked to El Niño.
He added that large-scale paddy farming projects are being developed in Pekan and Rompin, Pahang, as well as Sabah and Sarawak, to increase the country’s rice production.
On the issue of fruit oversupply caused by hot weather, Mohamad said the government is in discussions with Thailand to accelerate exports of Malaysian fruits to China via rail.
He added that technologies such as frozen durian processing are also being utilised to expand export markets and help reduce losses from fruit gluts.
