INDUSTRY players have agreed to further reduce the price of chicken at the producer and farm levels to stabilise the wholesale and retail prices and help consumers enjoy chicken at a reasonable price.

The matter was brought up at the meeting between the Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry and Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry yesterday, which was attended by the respective ministers, namely Ronald Kiandee and Alexander Nanta Linggi.

In a joint statement issued by Ronald and Nanta today, it said the meeting has agreed to look into several suggestions from the industry on ways to stabilise the chicken price.

Among them was the provision of soft loan facilities to help the industry maintain sufficient poultry production and address the issue of rising production costs due to the increase in the price of imported chicken feed.

According to the statement, the government will consider price control at all levels, supported by the provision of subsidies to certain chains as one of the efforts to tackle the price hike issue.

Also being considered is the proposal to implement the approved permit system for chicken sale if the government’s effort to address the issue did not get any cooperation from traders at all levels.

It said the two ministries have been monitoring the increase in the price of standard chicken since early this month, where retail prices of more than RM10 per kg were detected in several areas.

Based on the data from the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry’s national product price division on September 13, a total of 98 retail outlets were found selling standard chicken at a price of more than RM10 per kg.

As such, the ministry has implemented a new approach by holding direct engagement sessions with traders at localities experiencing the price hike.

“This effort has borne fruit when the data shows a downward trend in chicken prices compared with early September and this trend is expected to continue, thus stabilising chicken prices in the market,” the statement read.

It said the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry will continue with enforcement action under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 and take stern action against any party that deliberately take unreasonable profit. – Bernama, September 22, 2021.