Malaysian Agriculture Minister Learns Rice Production from Indonesia, Any Import Plans? He focuses on learning modern agricultural technology in Indonesia. Rep: Frederikus Dominggus Bata/ Red: Ahmad Fikri Noor

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Malaysia is experiencing a challenging period related to meeting domestic rice needs. Malaysian Minister of Agriculture and Security, Datuk Seri Mohammad Bin Sabu said that rice production in his country is far below Indonesia. The rice planting index in Malaysia is also relatively small. Thus, the government of the neighboring country relies heavily on imports to feed its population. That makes the price of rice there soar. The question is, will Malaysia also buy rice from Indonesia? Mohammad did not give a definite answer. The reason is, the main purpose of his visit was to study what Indonesia is doing, so that production increases. "Not yet, but we will discuss (the potential for rice imports from Indonesia). We import a lot from here, coconuts, vegetables, including fish, and so on. But we want to focus more on the technology seen in Indonesia for this rice," said the Malaysian Minister of Agriculture in a press conference at the Head Office ...