Malaysia Buys 500,000 Tons of Rice from Thailand

The Malaysian government has decided to buy 500,000 tons of rice from Thailand to ensure a sufficient stockpile of the staple food, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said here on Thursday, according to local media on Friday. The purchase was both a practical and precautionary move in the event of a sharp price rise due to the global food crisis, the prime minister said after opening the 5th Malaysian International Halal Showcase (MIHAS). "We are buying rice while we still can," the New Straits Times quoted Badawi as saying. There was a possibility that the price of rice could rise sharply and surplus countries could restrict exports, Badawi said. Securing stocks was the reason Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed was sent to Bangkok to negotiate the purchase, he said. Malaysian national news agency Bernama reported that Thailand agreed to meet Malaysia's request to purchase 500,000 tons of five percent and 15 percent broken rice from the kingdom, with an immediate supply of between 100,000 and 250,000 tons. Malaysia's national rice company Bernas managing director Bakri Hamzah said a team from the ministry and Bernas would meet the Thai Rice Exporters Association on Monday to discuss details of the purchase. The price of Thai white rice five percent (five percent broken grains) rose to an unprecedented 1,000 U.S. dollars a ton last month, from just 360 U.S. dollars in last October. According to reports, Bernas, Malaysia's sole rice importer, bought 831,000 tons from overseas suppliers in 2006, more than half of it from Thailand.