Rice sales shoot up due to Covid-19
Published on: Wednesday, April 08, 2020
By: FMT
PETALING JAYA: Rice wholesaler Faiza Sdn Bhd expects another 50pc increase in sales this month due to the movement control order (MCO).Faiza’s branch manager (central region) Jadwa Abu Bakar said the company was unable to keep up with demand.ADVERTISEMENT
“I guess people are eating more now because our sales in March was 50pc more than usual and I expect a similar increase in sales this month,” she said.
“We usually sell 8,000 tonnes a month throughout Malaysia, but last month, our sales went up to 13,500 tonnes,” she told the media during a visit by a delegation from the agriculture and food industries ministry to its factory in Subang .
The MCO has seen a partial shutdown in public activities since March 18, with the public told to stay home until April 14 to stem the spread of Covid-19.
Panic-buying on fears that a lockdown would restrict movement has seen rice and other staple products fly off the shelves over the past month.ADVERTISEMENT
Jadwa said: “We actually received three times our normal orders but our factories and deliveries could not keep up. We’ve even had to rent additional lorries just to make sure we deliver on time.”
A subsidiary of Bernas, the country’s sole rice importer, Faiza distributes rice and rice products to retailers across the country.
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Meanwhile, Deputy Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Che Abdullah Mat Nawi assured the public that the country had ample rice supply.
Che Abdullah, who said that Malaysia imported 30pc of its rice needs, said the government was constantly monitoring the country’s rice supply chain – for both imports and local manufacturing – to ensure the country’s monthly rice demand of 200,000 tonnes was being met.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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“We have 400,000 to 500,000 tonnes of rice in the market at any given time, and our farmers and factories are constantly working to make sure that the stock is being replenished,” he said after touring the factory.
“The rakyat need not worry.”