By SIRA HABIBU
The Star Online (Malaysia)
PETALING JAYA: As flood waters rise to threaten parts of Indochina, there is growing concern over public safety and food supply, including rice.
Some 1.5 million hectares of the region's famous padi fields including Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos with their rich, low-laying lands along the rivers have already been affected.
This has prompted Malaysia, which depends on these countries for 30% of its rice supply, to look towards other nations for the precious commodity.
With one-third of the country's overseas rice supply coming from Thailand, Malaysia has already received half of its consignment but the other half is still in Bangkok that even now is seeing rising water levels.
Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Johari Baharum said the country would look into sourcing rice from Pakistan, India or other countries.
“We have a stockpile of close to a million metric tonnes of rice lasting more than five months. Our padi fields, from which we are getting 70% of our supply, are not affected,” he said, adding that Malaysia's move towards self-sustainable rice production would eventually reduce dependence on imports.
Malaysians consume 180,000 tonnes of rice each month.
UN disaster reduction chief Margareta Wahlstrom said the entire region would suffer from rising cost of food prices as potential harvests had now been devastated.
“The damage is very serious this year and it will be some time before people can resume normal lives,” she said in a statement.
As the Thai capital braces for the worst floods in decades, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra had warned that many provinces could remain submerged for the next two months, including the country's rice fields.
Workers hurriedly dredged canals and cut new waterways yesterday in an attempt to protect the city.
At least 283 people have been killed in Thailand since late July by floods and mudslides that have devastated rice crops and shut dozens of factories.
American computer hard drive manufacturer Western Digital Corp and Japan's Toyota Motor Corp became the latest to suspend production in Thailand yesterday.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department confirmed that the Haitang tropical storm and the Nesat and Nalgae typhoons had caused downpours and strong winds in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.
“Continuous rain has aggravated the situation and the floods are said to be the worst in 50 years.
“Furthermore, the May to September period is the rainy season in the northern and western coasts of Thailand, brought about by the southwest monsoon,” it said in a statement.
However, the department said there was no indication that the northern part of Malaysia, where the country's rice bowl is located in Kedah, would be affected by the storms.
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