Malaysia. Rice Annual. Feb 2015 March 11, 2015

Production for rice is limited by land availability, high production costs, and availability of labor.

Rice S&D

Rice production is forecast to increase from 1.8 million tons in 2014/15 to 1.81 million tons in 2015/16. This expected increase is due to new planted areas in East Malaysia, better irrigation system, and the use of high yielding paddy varieties. Producers receive various incentives to produce, such as subsidized seeds, fertilizer, pesticides, and irrigation. The GOM set the support price for paddy at RM1,200 per ton.

Domestic consumption is relatively stable and is forecast at around 2.8 million to 2.82 million tons in 2014/15 and 2015/16 respectively. Any growth can be attributed to the immigrant labor population.

For premium rice such as Basmati rice and Fragrance Rice are a non-controlled items. Prices for ST15-grade rice (15% broken), which is mainly produced domestically, is controlled at RM1.65 (US$0.55) to RM1.80 (US$0.60) per Kg (subject to transportation cost).

In 2014, Thailand was the largest exporter quadrupling it volume from 144,281 tons in 2013. Vietnam's export dropped from 553,981 tons in 2013 to 321,500 tons in 2014. Other major exporters of rice to Malaysia in 2014 were Pakistan, Indonesia and Cambodia.

Rice Imports: