Anwar Pledges Action To Help Farmers Amid Durian Price Slump
TANGKAK, July 5 (Bernama) -- The plight of durian farmers facing a drop in prices following a near-simultaneous peak durian season in Peninsular Malaysia has drawn the attention of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who has pledged to raise the matter in discussions with Chinese Premier Li Qiang next month.
He said the effort was aimed at expanding market access for Malaysian durian in China, thereby boosting demand and stabilising prices, which had currently affected growers’ income.
“Alright, I promise one thing. Li Qiang, the Prime Minister of China, is a good friend. I will be going to China next month, and I want to bring up durian because I see prices are falling.
“China has very high standards, very high. But I will try to negotiate,” he said when speaking at a meet-the-people session at the Gambir state constituency here, tonight.
Also present were Pakatan Harapan (PH) Johor Election director Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, Deputy Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister and Ledang MP Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh, and PH candidate for the Gambir state seat, Mohd Nor Mohd Yusof.
Anwar said Malaysia-China relations should be leveraged to open more trade opportunities that would ultimately benefit local producers and farmers, especially during periods of oversupply.
In another development, the Prime Minister said Malaysia remained among countries offering the lowest fuel prices to the public through government intervention measures, despite global oil price pressures due to geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East.
The Finance Minister said conflicts involving Iran and the United States had exerted pressure on oil prices based on economic principles and supply disruptions, but the government had chosen to shield the people from price increases.
“There is no country in the world where fuel prices have gone down like Malaysia. Malaysia is the only country with the lowest fuel prices in the world. It is not easy to reduce fuel prices. We (the Cabinet) discuss it because I cannot bear it (if fuel prices go up).
“If you follow economics or policy principles, fuel prices must go up due to supply disruptions. But what about the people? That is why I do not agree with price increases, and we reduce them,” he said.
Current retail fuel prices from July 1 to 8 are set at RM3.37 per litre for RON95 and RM3.97 per litre for diesel, but the public benefits from subsidised rates of RM1.99 per litre for RON95 and RM2.10 per litre for diesel under the BUDI MADANI initiative.
-- BERNAMA