Rice prices in ringgit: how expensive is international rice now, and why has Malaysian rice barely moved?

Headlines say world rice prices are rising again. Malaysians buying a 10 kg bag see something else: the local white rice price has not changed, and some imported brands are cheaper than a year ago. This note converts the international price into ringgit month by month and sets it beside the prices on Malaysian shelves.

How much does international rice cost in ringgit now?

About RM1.92 a kilogram. The World Bank’s benchmark, Thai 5% broken white rice loaded at Bangkok, averaged US$471 a tonne in August 2026 (World Bank Pink Sheet). Multiplied by August’s average exchange rate of 4.0687 ringgit per dollar (BNM rates via OpenDOSM), that is RM1,916 a tonne.

Thai 5% white rice, FOB Bangkok, August 2026 monthly average: US$471 a tonne × 4.0687 ringgit per US dollar = RM1,916 a tonne (CapsWindow calculation, World Bank and BNM data)

The latest dollar figure is for September 2026: US$482 a tonne, 28.9% above September 2025 (US$374) and the 110th-highest of 801 months since 1960. Our exchange-rate data end in August, so September in ringgit can only be shown as a reference: US$482 at the August rate is about RM1,961 a tonne, with the months not matching.

This is an export price for long-grain Thai rice before shipping, milling margins, packaging and retail. It is not what a Malaysian shopper pays.

Where does this rank in ringgit history?

Around the upper fifth. August 2026 is the 69th-highest of 356 months since January 1997 in ringgit. Over the same months, the dollar price ranks only 102nd. The ringgit record is also more recent than the dollar one: January 2024, not the 2008 food crisis.

Visual guide

Where does this rank in ringgit history?

Thai 5%, RM a tonne (calculated)

• January 2024 (ringgit record)3,091
• December 20233,000
• February 20242,978
• May 20242,963
• May 2008 (2008 crisis peak in ringgit)2,902
• August 20261,916

03,091

Month	Thai 5%, US$ a tonne	Ringgit per US$	Thai 5%, RM a tonne (calculated)
January 2024 (ringgit record)	660	4.6830	3,091
December 2023	644	4.6590	3,000
February 2024	624	4.7723	2,978
June 2024	632	4.7101	2,977
May 2024	628	4.7183	2,963
May 2008 (2008 crisis peak in ringgit)	901.8	3.2180	2,902
August 2026	471	4.0687	1,916

All ringgit values are CapsWindow calculations: World Bank monthly average × BNM monthly average rate, using only months where both exist. In 2008 the dollar price was much higher, but the ringgit was about 3.2 to the dollar, so it converted into fewer ringgit. In late 2023 and 2024 the ringgit was around 4.6 to 4.8, which turned a lower dollar price into a ringgit record. The top five ringgit months all fall between December 2023 and June 2024.

Today’s ringgit price is 38.0% below January 2024 and 34.0% below May 2008. In dollars, the September 2026 price is 27.0% below January 2024 (US$660) and 46.9% below the all-time high of April 2008 (US$907).

How much did the ringgit soften the rise?

By 4.7 percentage points over the past year (25.6% against 20.9%). The ringgit strengthened while rice rose in dollars, so each dollar of rice cost fewer ringgit.

	August 2025	August 2026	Change
Thai 5%, US$ a tonne	375	471	+25.6%
Ringgit per US$ (monthly average)	4.2266	4.0687	−3.7% (stronger ringgit)
Thai 5%, RM a tonne (calculated)	1,585	1,916	+20.9%

Currencies that weakened over the same year saw the opposite. The same calculation gives +35.3% in yen, +37.1% in rupiah and +35.1% in Philippine pesos, against +25.6% in dollars. The Singapore dollar, which also firmed slightly, shows +24.8%. Measured from the 2025 low in October 2025 (US$356 a tonne), the ringgit price had risen 27.7% by August 2026 (CapsWindow calculations).

What does it look like after inflation?

Ordinary. Restating each month in July 2026 prices with Malaysia’s headline CPI (DOSM, 2010=100; the series in our data ends in July 2026), July 2026 comes to RM1,907 a tonne, the 170th of 355 months: close to the middle of the range since 1997.

After inflation the 2008 crisis is still the record. May 2008 equals about RM4,157 a tonne in July 2026 prices, so the latest month is 54.1% lower. January 2024 equals about RM3,225, and the latest month is 40.9% lower than that. The four highest real months are April to July 2008, followed by January 2024 (CapsWindow calculations).

Check what a past ringgit amount buys today →

What about the rice Malaysians actually buy?

On the shelf, mostly flat or lower. The government holds local white rice (beras putih tempatan) at RM2.60 a kilogram, RM26 for a 10 kg bag. Economy Minister Akmal Nasir reconfirmed the price on 13 July 2026 and said rice stocks covered six months (Malay Mail). In February 2025 the government also set aside RM150 million to absorb part of production costs for six months and raised the paddy floor price from RM1,300 to RM1,500 a tonne from 16 February 2025 (Bernama).

Imported rice is priced by the market. BERNAS raised its imported white rice wholesale price from RM2,350 to RM3,200 a tonne on 1 September 2023 (The Edge Malaysia), then cut it in steps to RM2,600 a tonne from 15 May 2025 (Free Malaysia Today). Whether BERNAS changed prices again in 2026 has not been confirmed.

10 kg bag, PriceCatcher monthly median (RM)	Oct 2024	Oct 2025	Sep 2026	Oct 2026 (12–22 Oct)	Oct 2025 → Oct 2026
Local white rice (Cap Jasmine, “SST5%”)	26.00	26.00	26.00	26.00	0%
Faiza Emas (imported)	37.50	34.90	31.99	31.99	−8.3%
Jasmine Super 5 Special (imported)	39.10	35.99	34.50	34.50	−4.1%
Super Cap Rambutan 5% (imported)	39.99	36.00	35.99	36.39	+1.1%

Source: KPDN transaction prices published on OpenDOSM PriceCatcher; medians calculated by CapsWindow. October 2026 is a partial month. We read the “SST5%” label as local white rice; we have not found an official definition of it. The October 2024 local-rice figure rests on one observation.

Official prices tell the same story. DOSM does not publish a rice-only index in its open data, so the nearest measure is the cereals subclass (01111), in which rice is the main item (DOSM CPI).

Period (September to September)	Cereals CPI (01111)	Headline CPI	Food CPI
1 year, 2025 → 2026	−0.1%	+1.8%	+1.8%
5 years, 2021 → 2026	+4.6%	+12.1%	+17.3%
10 years, 2016 → 2026	+8.0%	+19.3%	+29.7%

DOSM 2010=100 indices to September 2026 (CapsWindow calculation; the headline series stored in our data ends in July 2026). The cereals index peaked at 112.3 in October 2023, up 5.35% on a year earlier, its largest annual rise since 2010. That coincided with the BERNAS increase and a shortage of local white rice.

For a household, the national minimum wage of RM1,700 a month (Malay Mail) buys about 653.8 kg of local white rice at RM2.60 a kilogram, or about 531.4 kg of Faiza Emas at RM31.99 per 10 kg. Budget 2027 raises the minimum wage to RM2,000 from June 2027 (Bernama); at the same rice price that would be about 769.2 kg (CapsWindow calculations). For scale, DOSM puts rice consumption at 77.1 kg per person in 2025 (DOSM).

So the export price and the shelf price are separated by a fixed ceiling on local rice, a state-linked importer’s wholesale price, and differences in variety, brand, milling and distribution. A 20% rise in the Bangkok price does not translate into a 20% rise in a Malaysian 10 kg bag.

Why did world prices rise again, and how should these numbers be read?

The dollar price bottomed at US$356 a tonne in October 2025 and rose to US$494 in June 2026, then US$482 in September. Reports point to several factors, without any one being proven as the cause:

• India’s 2026/27 crop could fall by about 10 million tonnes from a record 154 million tonnes, the largest drop since 2009/10, according to the president of the Indian rice exporters’ association; monsoon rain since 1 June was 15% below normal (Business Today). The USDA forecast cited by S&P Global is 147 million tonnes, 7 million lower (S&P Global). India’s government stocks reached a record 59.6 million tonnes on 1 September, and dealers said exports could continue without restrictions; we found no confirmed new Indian export curb in 2026.
• Floods delayed Thai shipments; Thai 5% was quoted at US$480 a tonne on 15 October, its highest since 10 September (Business Recorder).
• Concerns about El Niño and higher freight and insurance costs (Trading Economics). The FAO All Rice Price Index rose 1.4% in September 2026 (FAO).
• On 20 October Thailand’s Commerce Ministry said the Philippines and Malaysia had increased purchases of Thai rice in preparation for El Niño (Nation Thailand).