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Malaysia’s agriculture minister announced plans to request an additional 500,000 metric tons of white rice from India. This request is on top of the 170,000 tons previously allocated by India for the year. India, being the world’s largest rice exporter, had imposed restrictions on shipments to manage inflation and ensure food security.
According to the state-run rice importer Bernas, Malaysia’s annual rice consumption stands at 2.5 million metric tons, with an average imported supply of 750,000 tons.
Agriculture Minister Mohamad Sabu stated in a late Wednesday Facebook post that the government would officially submit the request to India through diplomatic channels soon after his meeting with India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
Mohamad also mentioned that Malaysia had previously requested 100,000 metric tons of onions from India through a government-to-government arrangement back in January.
With inputs from Reuters