KUCHING, May 26 — Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg today said the state government will introduce a discount on the electricity tariff for food producers and retailers in a bid to reduce their cost of doing business.

He said he expected the discount, which will also apply to coffee shops, restaurants, and other food and beverages industries, to mitigate rising prices in the state.

"All these are due to the current geopolitical tension that leads to imported inflation and the ringgit performance against US dollar that had declined 0.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2022,” he said in his winding speech in the state assembly.

He added Malaysia’s weakening currency will increase the price of imports, burdening both consumers and importers.

"As Malaysia is a net importer of food, the imported inflation has caused higher food prices domestically. Therefore, most of this is beyond the Sarawak government’s control.

"For this reason, the Sarawak government will intervene within our power and means to cushion the impact of rising cost of living especially on food prices, on to the people,” said Abang Johari, who is also the state’s minister of finance and new economy.

He stressed that the state government was working to turn the local agriculture sector into a net food exporter under the Post-Covid-19 Development Strategy 2030.

He added this will eventually provide "farm-to-table” food security and self-sufficiency level (SSL) for Sarawak.