PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia is set to adopt a new method for calculating the country's self-sufficiency rate which follows the United Nations' standards.
Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu said details on the new calculation method would be unveiled on Friday.
He was speaking at the ministry's monthly assembly today.
Mohamad said the new method for calculating the rice self-sufficiency rate and per-capita consumption is in line with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's standards.
Mohamad said the ministry would determine the country's self-sufficiency rate based on the amount of padi which could be processed into rice in 2023.
Based on the new mechanism, the country's rice SSR in 2023 stood at 56.2 per cent last year, compared to 57.9 per cent in 2022, he said.
He said the lower self-sufficiency rate was because the new calculation excludes the quantity of padi reserved for seeding purposes.