KUALA LUMPUR: Rubber smallholders have been urged to register for the Rubber Transaction Authorisation Permit (PAT-G) card with the Malaysian Rubber Board (LGM) to enable them to make claims under the Rubber Production Incentive (IPG) scheme.
Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok said as of December 2018, a total of 303,452 rubber smallholders in the peninsula and 158,747 in Sabah and Sarawak have the PAT-G card.
“If rubber smallholders do not have the card, they will face difficulty in making claims under the IPG scheme if the IPG is activated. In fact, the claim rate is still low,” she said at the oral question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
On Feb 18, LGM activated the IPG for January 2019 with a cuplump or scrap rubber payment of 50 sen per kg for Peninsular Malaysia, 80 sen per kg for Sabah and 70 sen per kg for Sarawak.
The IPG was activated in January following the decline in the average farm-gate price of cuplump to RM2 per kg in the peninsula, RM1.70 per kg (Sabah) and RM1.80 per kg (Sarawak).
Kok said her ministry is working hard to improve the IPG claim process in order to benefit rubber smallholders nationwide. — Bernama