THE subsidies for chicken breeders and chicken egg producers have been extended from October until December, at a rate of 80 sen per kg for chickens and eight sen per egg, Ronald Kiandee said.

The agriculture and food industries minister said the decision was made at the cabinet meeting on Friday to ease the burden of poultry breeders, following rising production costs, especially chicken feed which accounts for 70% of operating costs, apart from the costs of day-old chicks, logistics, workers, utilities and medicines.

“This decision was made after taking into consideration the need to maintain the ceiling price of standard chicken at the retail level at RM9.40 per kg and retail ceiling prices of grades A, B and C chicken eggs at 45 sen, 43 sen and 41 sen each respectively in Peninsular Malaysia,” he said in a statement today.

Ronald said the subsidy payments will be deposited directly in the accounts of farmers via Agrobank as per existing mechanism, involving private breeders, integrator or semi-integrator breeders and contract breeders.

He said the ministry will ensure that the payment process is implemented smoothly to guarantee continuity in production at the farm level.

He said the extension of the subsidy scheme involved an additional financial implication of RM573.96 million to the government.

Allocations for chicken and egg subsidies from February to September amounted to RM1.233 billion.

“As at October 4, a total of 13,440 subsidy claim applications worth RM1.136 billion have been approved by the ministry and all breeders can continue to submit their applications for subsidies,” Ronald said.

He said the government is committed to ensuring that the poultry industry remains sustainable by continuing to give subsidy, apart from ensuring timely and adequate supply of chicken and eggs at reasonable prices for the benefit of Keluarga Malaysia. – Bernama, October 9, 2022.