THE supply of chicken for the local market is guaranteed to be sufficient and there is no need for the government to issue approved permits (APs) for the item, said Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Alexander Nanta Linggi.

He said his ministry is regularly holding engagement sessions with chicken farmers throughout the country to ensure an adequate supply of poultry.

“The statement made by my deputy Rosol Wahid is that if there is a need for the government to issue APs for imported chicken to meet local demand, but for now it is not necessary,” he said in a press conference after officiating the Riang Riuh Raya and Malaysian Marketplace programme at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, today.

He said this when commenting on the statement by Pakatan Harapan Youth chief Shazni Munir Mohd Ithnin who questioned ministry’s action to issue the APs when Hari Raya Aidilfitri is just three weeks away.

Also present at the event were Rosol, and Kuala Lumpur Pavilion Sdn Bhd adviser Abdul Wahab Khalil.

Meanwhile, Nanta also denied that his ministry was slow in addressing the issue of rising chicken prices.

He said his ministry took a holistic step in solving the problem so that all parties, not only consumers, but also traders and breeders were not affected.

“We need to understand, the chicken traders who sell in the market are small traders and they buy chicken at high prices from distributors or breeders, so they need to increase the price a bit.

“But starting tomorrow, with the enforcement of the Festive Season Maximum Price Control Scheme, the price of chicken has been set at RM7.90 per kg. It is still below RM8,” he said.

Commenting on the Buy Malaysian Products campaign, Nanta said the ministry is targeting total sales this year to reach RM120 billion.

He added that he was confident the figure would be achieved based on last year’s performance, where sales of Malaysian-made grossed RM130 billion compared to the target of RM100 billion. – Bernama, April 20, 2021.