SHORTSIGHTED and definitely wrong, was how chicken egg producers in Peninsular Malaysia described the government’s short-term plan to import eggs from various sources overseas to overcome the shortage in the country.

President of the Federation of Sundry Goods Merchants Associations of Malaysia, Hong Chee Meng, gave two main reasons for his opposition to the move that was announced by new Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu earlier this week.

Firstly, Hong said, eggs have a limited shelf life and by the time they reach Malaysia, they would have lost their freshness.

Secondly, he said, imported eggs will no doubt be more expensive, abd consumers in the lower income group will not be able to afford.

Hong said the new government had made the mistake of not discussing the cause of the shortage with farmers.

“It’s important for the government to discuss with egg farmers on how they can help in overcoming the shortage.”

Selangor Egg Wholesalers Association president Low Hin Ching said the shortage, which had persisted for almost a year, was due to the previous Perikatan Nasional (PN) government’s move to set a fixed price for eggs.

He said the fixed price had caused farms to chalk up losses as they could not cover the high production costs.

“The farms could not just simply close down and depart from the industry. So what they did was to cut production temporarily to stop losses,” Low said.

That, he said, is the cause of the egg shortage in the peninsula.

Low said the fixed price is also causing middlemen and wholesalers to lose money.

He said since most of the peninsula’s large egg farms are concentrated in the south, transporting eggs to states in the north like Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and Terengganu would make them incur more losses.

Low said the cost of transporting was not factored in when the government introduced the price cap.

“The producers are already not making any money, but they still have to spend more money on transport,” he said, explaining why shortages in these states are more acute than those further south.

Low said the officials’ failure to understand the situation had made the new government falsely accuse wholesalers of hoarding eggs, which only showed their ignorance of the situation.

“It’s an insult to us and our industry. Do they know an egg is not fresh after three days and even more so if it is kept for a week?”

Hong of the Federation of Sundry Goods Merchants Associations said some members keep more stock than what is needed for fear they would not have any to do business with.

“Retailers normally stock up for use over two days.”

But with the uncertainty in supply, some shops stock more, he said, dismissing claims of hoarding among members.

“They are worried about supply disruptions. The fear that disruption would leave them without business.”

Selangor Coffee, Tea Merchants and Restaurant Owners Association president Lim Beng Hok said most of his members had opted to use the eggs of kampung chicken in an attempt to beat the shortage.

There are occasions, however, where they still could not get enough supply.

“Other consumers are also snapping up kampung chicken eggs.”

Mohamad said his ministry had identified several external sources to meet the country’s egg needs.

He said he is aware of the importance of eggs as a protein source consumed by people daily.

He said Malaysia consumed an average of 968 million eggs per month.

Mohamad allayed the fears of local producers, saying the import of eggs will not be a threat to the local industry.

“It is about ensuring that domestic supply is not interrupted and the wellbeing of the population is maintained.”

He said the measures would be reviewed once egg supplies were stable again. – December 9, 2022.