THE move to keep the ceiling on the prices of chickens and eggs until February will cause more hurt to the poultry industry which had already suffered in the prolonged Covid-19 lockdowns of the last two years, said a farmers’ group.

A Federation of Livestock Farmers’ Association Malaysia (FLFAM) spokesman said many small and medium farms might have to close down after sustaining losses in the months of shutdown.

He said the government’s decision to extend the low ceiling prices for chickens and eggs under the Malaysian Maximum Family Price Scheme (SHMKM) will cause more losses to the industry.

“Maybe the bigger farmers can still hang on, but many small and medium players have closed down because they can no longer sustain the losses,” the spokesman said.

“They have suffered in the past two years. Business was bad as restaurants were closed, hotels were closed, transport costs to deliver the eggs and chickens increased.

“Now the government wants to extend the SHMKM until February when it was supposed to end in December. How much more losses must they incur?”

The government put a cap on the prices for essential food items such as chicken, eggs and vegetables from December 7-31.

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Alexander Nanta Linggi said the prices for chicken and eggs will be announced in stages, namely at the farm, wholesale and retail levels.

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs enforcement director Azman Adam last week announced lower prices for four basic food items – chicken, eggs, sawi (choy sum) and kacang panjang (long beans) starting tomorrow until February 4.

The spokeman said FLFAM has met the ministry officials and agreed to support the SHMKM scheme in Decembr even though its members are still experiencing economic challenges.

“The livestock industry is shocked and disappointed over the extension of SHMKM until Feb 4 which is accompanied by a drop in chicken and egg prices,” he said.

“The rising cost of chicken and egg production is real and the industry is still suffering losses. In addition, the industry is still waiting for financial assistance such as soft loans or feed cost subsidies from the government. The continued loss of farmers’ income will affect the production of the cheapest source of protein in our country.”

He said Putrajaya must not extend the price control period so that the industry is released from economic constraints and can operate on the basis of supply and demand

“It is hoped the government will take action as soon as possible so that the industry will recover and continue to guarantee the supply of chickens and eggs according to demand.” – January 3, 2022.