SHAH ALAM, April 28 — Selangor continues to enhance its food supply chain, from production to distribution, to ensure price stability and sufficient supply for consumers, said state executive councillor for infrastructure and agriculture Dato’ Izham Hashim.
He said these measures are proactive moves amid geopolitical unrest in West Asia that has affected global markets.
According to him, the state government is cooperating with the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry (KPDN) and Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) to monitor daily price fluctuations.
“We set up a special dashboard to monitor goods price hikes daily, especially that of raw goods, which could cause compounding price hikes.
“We monitor it from the source, for example, agro-based goods. KPDN doesn’t cover everything; it only covers certain foods. Fertiliser, feed, pesticide costs, it doesn’t monitor (not under its jurisdiction). These all directly affect food (industries).
“For example, under the Selangor Resilience Enhancement Package for chicken farming, we will help with corn supply if there are (price) hikes on livestock feed. For farmers, (it would involve) input aid like fertiliser as it is the basis for all types of crops,” Izham said in response to a supplementary question from Hulu Kelang assembly Dato’ Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali about the state government’s moves to ensure not just sufficient, but price-controlled food.
According to Izham, the state government doesn’t depend solely on the Self-Sufficiency Ratio (SSR), but employs a more practical approach to ensure sustainable food security.
“The state government has the Selangor Food Warehouse (GMS), which is aiming to accumulate a stockpile of at least 50 per cent of a month’s needs.
“This is equivalent to around (24,000 metric tonnes) of rice, (17,000 metric tonnes) of chicken, (18,5000 metric tonnes) of fish, and 130 million chicken eggs.
“Overall, the state government uses a comprehensive, data-based approach to ensure sustainable food security,” he said.
Previously, he assured that Selangor’s emergency food stocks are sufficient, adding that existing GMS supplies could feed 20 per cent of residents each month till year-end.
Izham said the Selangor government plans to increase GMS’ capacity, including staples and protein sources, to 40 per cent of monthly needs by next year.
