Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Salahuddin Ayub has responded to criticism over his claim that the price of staples has seen a drop of between 30 to 50 percent following the zero-rating of the GST.

His critics had pointed out that many of these goods were already exempted from GST prior to the zero-rating move by the new government.

"I note that my statement that the price of foodstuff had fallen by 30 to 50 percent had caused confusion.

"It was a spontaneous statement based on public feedback at a number of locations and also general observational reports on the reduction of price for staples.

"It was also made based on my observation of foodstuff prices, particularly fruits and vegetables, which were sold directly by farmers at farmers' markets," he said in a statement today.

Salahuddin admitted that the general statement was not representative of the whole country.

He maintained, however, that the zero-rating of GST was likely to still have a positive impact on the price of staples even though they were already exempted from the tax, because other parts of the production chain – such as transportation services – were previously taxed.

"Even though GST was not imposed on basic foodstuff, the government's decision is positive in the effort to reduce the cost of food production across the value chain, particularly input costs, machinery costs and logistical costs," he explained.

Salahuddin said he has instructed his ministry to determine the exact impact of the zero-rating of GST on production costs and their influence on the price of foodstuff.