RICE STOCKPILE (Government Policy)

Mr William Tan asked the Minister for Commerce and Industry whether he will make a statement on the latest Government policy regarding the rice stockpile.

Mr Lim Cher Kheng asked the Minister for Commerce and Industry whether he will make a statement on the discussions he has had with the rice merchants and the Singapore Chamber of Commerce about the stockpiling of rice, and whether he will revise the present rice-stockpiling policy of the Government.

Mr J. M. Jumabhoy: Sir, with your permission, I will take Questions 6 and 7 together because both refer to the same subject.

Representatives of four rice Associations together with representatives of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce saw me on 7th January with a request for unconditional abolition of the stockpile.

I explained to them that the Government had no desire to carry the burden of the stockpile, but it was necessary in the interest of the general public to have guaranteed supplies in case of any emergency. I asked them for suggestions as to any practical alternate machinery that could be devised to meet this difficulty. They saw the necessity for some practical alternate arrangement to meet an emergency but were unable to suggest a solution.

I then put a suggestion to them that since they claimed that every rice merchant did maintain a certain amount of stock at all times and that since most of their stocks were held in bank go-downs, it could perhaps be a solution if they requested their bankers individually to guarantee to Government to hold on their behalf a minimum specified amount of whole grain rice stocks at all times which will be available to Government on demand at any time. I suggested that such bank guarantees should total to a tonnage of 25,000 tons. This method would not place any additional burden on any of the merchants nor on the public while at the same time ensuring that stocks will be available in an emergency.

After some discussion, though all were agreed that the suggestion had possibilities in principle, the representatives of the rice Associations desired to discuss further in their own Associations the practical aspects of implementing the suggestion and promised to let me know the results. So far I have not heard from them and therefore I am not able to give any indication at this stage of Government's future policy on the stockpile.

Hon. Members will of course appreciate that even if my above suggestion is agreed to by the trade, agreement will have to be sought from the Federation Government, as the rice stockpile was set up by joint agreement.

Mr William Tan: Will the Minister inform the House the total tonnage of the stockpile?

Mr J. M. Jumabhoy: Sir, because the total tonnage is a matter for defence requirement in case of an emergency, I am not in a position to divulge that information to the House.

Mr William Tan: Sir, the Minister just informed the House that he insisted on a guarantee of a stockpile of 25,000 tons of rice by the rice merchants. Why can he not reveal the figure?

Mr J. M. Jumabhoy: That is so, Sir, but 25,000 tons need not be the full quantity that Government considers necessary to maintain in Singapore for an emergency.