PUTRAJAYA should raise the chicken ceiling price to help poultry farmers, said Institute of Plantation Studies director Prof Shaufique Fahmi Ahmad Sidique of the supply shortage.

It should also introduce a food stamp programme for low-income consumers, he added.

However, he said, these are short-term measures similar to the scrapping of the approved permit for chicken imports and the freezing of chicken imports.

The Universiti Putra Malaysia academic said by raising the ceiling price and providing aid to consumers, the government can “balance the situation”.

Poultry farmers are absorbing the increasing production cost to keep the ceiling price for standard chicken at RM8.90/kg, despite subsidies.

Shaufique said there were already signs of a possible crisis in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, adding that the government should have anticipated the chicken supply shortage after an increase in production cost.

Now, the Russia-Ukraine war has worsened the situation.

“This is expected. We could already see trouble brewing during the pandemic,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

“Markets were badly affected at the time as no one was buying, meaning no one is producing.

“The cost of production is currently high, farmers do not find it feasible to sell chicken at RM8.90/kg.

“When cost is high, production will be low; that is why… the ceiling price of standard chicken should be increased.”

To set the ceiling price for standard chicken at RM8.90/kg, the government has to subsidise 60 sen/kg, which will cost it RM729 million.

This will last from February 5 until June 5.

Chicken sellers predict further drop in supply

The chicken price at wholesale markets in the Klang Valley spiked to as high as RM13/kg over the weekend.

Supply is shrinking after poultry processing factories stopped output due to issues including diseased chickens, underweight chickens and the delay in subsidy distribution.

Chicken seller Lim Kin He, who heads a hawkers and small traders association in Pudu, Kuala Lumpur, said chicken traders have not been able to meet customer demand.

Supply has been decreasing since last month and is expected to drop up to 50% next week, he added.

“I would place an order for, say, 10 chickens, but my supplier delivers only five or six. If the situation does not improve, supply will dip and prices will hike next week.”

He said some farmers are not able to meet demand as their chickens have not reached the desired weight.

Chicken and duck seller Richard Wan said he used to receive fresh poultry daily, but now suppliers have been delivering only two days a week.

“I will meet orders placed by hawkers and restaurants first, and then ones placed by regular customers. Other customers who come to the market can only try their luck.”

He said many traders are selling standard chicken at RM10/kg, above the ceiling price of RM8.90/kg.

Putrajaya yesterday announced that it will suspend chicken exports from next month until poultry prices and production are stable.

The Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry also said procedures for chicken farmers to apply for subsidies will be further simplified.

On DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke’s idea to allocate more land to grow grain to reduce dependence on imported chicken feed, Shaufique disagreed.

“We need to boost efficiency as a long-term measure. But to grow our own grains is something that I do not agree with.

“The problem now is the price. The supply is there, but the price is high. The only way is to assist consumers.” – May 25, 2022.