The minister says that Putrajaya also officially asked for a special export of 100,000 tonnes of onions earlier this year.

It was reported last year that the Indian government had approved the export of 170,000 tonnes of white non-basmati rice to Malaysia as a sign of friendship. (Wiki Commons pic)

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia has requested for an additional 500,000 tonnes of white rice from India, said agriculture and food security minister Mohamad Sabu.

Mohamad said the official application would be made through diplomatic channels to India soon.

“In the meeting just now, I took the opportunity to record our deepest appreciation for the special export allocation of 170,000 tonnes of white rice to Malaysia by the government of India,” he said in a statement issued after India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

On Oct 19, 2023, FMT reported that the Indian government had approved the export of 170,000 tonnes of white non-basmati rice to Malaysia as a sign of friendship.

Mohamad, who also attended the discussion session between Jaishankar and Anwar, said Malaysia had also submitted an official request to India earlier this year to obtain a special export allocation of 100,000 tonnes of onions through a government-to-government arrangement.

He said Malaysia appreciated the cordial bilateral relations with India in the fields of agriculture and food security.

Mohamad said the value of trade in the agricultural sector between Malaysia and India from January to November 2023 was worth RM19.42 billion.

Jaishankar is on a two-day working visit to Malaysia starting today.

Published Date: March 27, 2024