Felda settlers will have to bear losses if sugar price remains low, says Ahmad Shabery

KUALA LUMPUR: The multifold increase in the price of raw sugar since 2020 has caused the actual price of sugar to far exceed the ceiling price set by the government at RM2.85 per kilogramme.

Federal Land Development Board (Felda) chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said if the situation continued and the price of sugar remained low, it would cause Felda settlers to bear continuous losses.

Ahmad Shabery said this was because the settlers were shareholders of FGV Holdings Berhad (FGV) and Koperasi Permodalan Felda Bhd (KPF), which in turn were the major shareholders in the country’s main sugar producer MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd (MSM).

“FGV and KPF respectively hold 51 per cent and 15.27 per cent of MSM, and at the same time, Felda settlers are shareholders of the two companies.

“The big issue (now) is the skyrocketing price of raw sugar, in 2020, the price of raw sugar cost RM200 per tonne, now it has tripled to RM600 per tonne.

“No matter how expensive it (raw material) is, the ceiling price of sugar sold to the public is RM2.85 (per kg),” he told BK recently.

He said this caused MSM to suffer huge losses, whereby in 2022, the losses reached up to RM178mil which had a big impact on Felda settlers.

In addition, he said the price of standard sugar in the country was much lower compared to countries in the Asean region such as Thailand, that sells sugar at RM3.90 to RM4 per kg.

“Actually the price of sugar is now subsidised by the settlers because they are MSM shareholders, not the government. Imagine a subsidy of RM1 per kg, that’s a big (amount). It is not fair if they continue to bear the subsidy,” he said.

Therefore, he hoped that the government would take appropriate measures so that the settlers would not continue to be burdened with sugar subsidies, adding that Felda would consult with the government to find the best mechanism to resolve the issue. – BK