Sanusi Nor said low-income earners and those in rural areas would not be able to afford rice if the price was floated.

“As it is, there are those who are struggling to buy one kilogramme of rice at the retail price of RM2.60 per kg.

“So if it is floated, I fear that many more would not be able to afford local rice” he said when met at the PAS muktamar here.

Earlier this month, former second finance minister Johari Ghani suggested that the ceiling price for local white rice be raised as an incentive for farmers to grow more padi to overcome the current supply shortage.

On a related matter, Sanusi welcomed the government’s decision to raise the floor price of rice from RM1,200 per metric tonne to RM1,300 in the 2024 budget.

However, he said the RM100 increase was insufficient in view of high operational costs.