SMALL time egg sellers in wet markets are giving up their businesses due to smaller profit margins from soaring prices.

A visit to wet markets around the Kepong area showed that some egg sellers who have been trading for years are ready to throw in the towel.

In some markets, several old-timers are no longer at their usual slots to sell eggs.

In Kepong, an egg dealer told The Malaysian Insight these egg sellers have decided to stop their trade following the egg shortage and soaring prices.

“The prices have gone up so much. People don’t want to pay almost 50 sen for an egg. The sellers will also have to pay high price to buy these eggs to sell.

“With prices only going up, the profit which we make is only getting smaller. Sometimes, too small that it’s not worth it,” said the trader who only wanted to be known as Aunty Soo.

She added that demand for eggs from free range or kampung chickens have dropped tremendously as their prices have shot up much higher.

One way to counter the shortage of eggs and chickens in the local markets is by stopping the export of these items to Singapore, said Mydin hypermarkets boss Ameer Ali Mydin.

He said the government should look into how India was addressing the shortage of essential goods in that country, reported Free Malaysia Today.

“Much of our produce is exported and we allow this. The government should develop a mechanism, so if there are price hikes, we temporarily ban exports. India does it with its onions,” he was quoted as saying in FMT.

“If you go to the supermarket, sometimes you will notice there are no red onions, this is because they come from India.

“So you will know that there is a shortage in India and their government has stopped exports,” he said.

Earlier this week Putrajaya said it was mulling a short-term ban on export of eggs following complaints of drastic hike in egg prices locally.

“If it helps to reduce the price of eggs and benefit the people, we will definitely look into it,” Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail was reported as saying.

While egg farmers had blamed soaring feed prices for the reduction in production, Saifuddin said yesterday the increase in egg prices was because of bird flu affecting poultry.

The minister said the flu was causing a shortage in egg supply, but assured that this was only temporary.

“My ministry is in discussions with the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNKK) on steps to contain the pricing,” he said.

It was reported recently that egg farmers are closing shop due to soaring feed prices, and that egg production had dropped by an estimated of 70% compared to two years ago. – December 16, 2018.