PETALING JAYA: The government will sell 5kg of imported rice at RM14 to low-income households under a new Rahmah initiative, says deputy domestic trade and cost of living minister Fuziah Salleh.
The scheme, dubbed the Rahmah Rice Sales, will be implemented nationwide, Bernama reported her as saying.
Fuziah said the initiative would be partly funded by the RM150 million allocation provided under the Rahmah Sales programme.
At the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, Fuziah said Putrajaya would implement the Rahmah Rice Sales to help ease the burden of those affected by the price hike in imported rice as well as the shortage of local rice.
On Sept 1, Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas) said the price per tonne of imported white rice had been raised to RM3,200 from the previous RM2,350.
This led to an increased demand for locally produced rice, which is cheaper.