KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 — The Plantation and Commodities Ministry (KPK) believes standardising commodity prices in the market is impractical to implement as it involves high costs for the government and is feared to affect a market’s efficiency.
For the oil palm sector, the price of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) is subject to the price of crude palm oil and palm kernel in the market.
“The cost of transport from the farm to the factory and the imposition of taxes by the state government also contributes to the price difference between the Peninsula and Sabah and Sarawak.
“Therefore, the government has no plan to implement FFB pricing in the market and is more focused on implementing a strategy to strengthen palm oil prices to ensure entrepreneurs receive a reasonable income,” it said in a reply posted on Parliament’s website yesterday.
KPK was responding to Ranau MP Datuk Jonathan Yasin’s query on the steps taken by the ministry so rubber and other commodities are sold at a uniform price in Sabah, Sarawak, and Peninsular Malaysia.
Regarding the rubber sector, it said as an export-oriented commodity, its selling price is influenced by world demand and supply.
“With a contribution of only around 3.3 per cent to the total world production, it is difficult for Malaysia to influence the market price of natural rubber and implement measures to standardise rubber prices in the country.
“Thus, the ministry via the Malaysian Rubber Board is more focused on ensuring a reasonable income among entrepreneurs by implementing the Rubber Production Incentive,” KPK said.
— Bernama
