THE government has yet to decide whether to extend the subsidy for poultry farmers after June 4, said Minister of Agriculture and Food Industries Dr Ronald Kiandee. 

He said the current subsidy provided for the period between Feb 5 to June 4, during the implementation of the Keluarga Malaysia Maximum Price Control Scheme, involves an allocation of more than RM500 million.

“The subsidy is given to ensure the price of chicken remains below RM8.90 per kilogram compared to the market price which can reach up to RM9.80 or RM9.90 per kilogram. Since we want to lower the price, the government needs to provide subsidy even if it has a financial impact on the government.”

“At the moment, we cannot reduce the price of imported corn. We do not grow corn commercially for animal feed, so we import, hence, the increase in the price of chicken,” he said after opening the Large-Scale Smart Paddy Field (Smart SBB) project at the Area Farmers Organisation of the Muda Agricultural Development Authority C-IV Kangkong near Alor Setar today.

Ronald said a new policy to encourage corn cultivation was being drafted  to reduce the country’s dependence on imported corn for use as for animal feed as part of the effort to control chicken prices.

“The government wants to encourage the cultivation of corn as the country’s dependence on imported corn has resulted in an increase in the cost of livestock farming in Malaysia and also the price of chicken in the market,” he added.

The government has agreed to provide a subsidy of 60 sen per kg to poultry farmers, by taking into account the farm-level price of live chickens at RM5.90 per kg and the retail price of standard chicken at RM8.90 per kg, as well as a subsidy of 5 sen per egg from all categories. – Bernama, February 13, 2022.