THE huge allocation and subsidies for padi cultivation under Budget 2010 signal Malaysia’s serious commitment towards restoring its self-sufficiency level (SSL) for the commodity, which is heading towards a severe supply shortage worldwide.

Asian rice stocks are said to be near danger level. On the other hand, the world’s grain stocks have shrunk by half since 1999, from a reserve big enough to feed the entire world for 116 days then, to a predicted low of only 57 days by year-end.

Malaysia hit the panic button on its rice supply security last year after it encountered severe price escalation in imported rice as well as shortage in its supply due to the imposition of export curbs by major rice suppliers in Thailand, India, Vietnam and China as a measure to contain their domestic food price inflation in 2007.

Malaysians annually consume about 2.2 million tonnes of rice, of which some 657,900 tonnes still need to be imported.