Malaysia turns to South Asian rice

Malaysia will source rice cargoes from India and Pakistan to meet its import needs after floods swamped farms and mills in Thailand, the world's largest exporter of the grain, the Star newspaper reported on Friday. It quoted Deputy Agriculture Minister Johari Baharum as saying that while Malaysia has a stockpile of close to one million tonnes of rice that can last more than five months, it was awaiting a consignment from Bangkok where water levels were still rising.
Traders this week said swollen rivers in Thailand hampered the movement of rice barges and ships at ports could not take up the cargoes due to the heavy rain, which could delay shipments and force buyers to look beyond Southeast Asia. Malaysia produces about 70 percent of the more than 2.2 million tonnes of rice it consumes annually, with the rest coming as imports from Thailand and Vietnam. Thai rice makes up a third of Malaysia's imports and only half of its requirements from this key exporter of the grain have been met, the paper said. Malaysian government officials could not immediately be reached to comment on the report.