THE supply of fresh chicken is now slowly stabilising despite the chickens weighing less than normal, industry players said.

However, it may take another three months for the weight of the chickens to return to what it was before.

This, they said, is because of manpower shortage, leaving many farms unable to meet demand.

Pudu Hawkers and Petty Traders Association chairman Lim Kin He said supply has been steady but the weight of the chickens has been low.

However, the current situation is better than two months ago when hawkers were only able to get five or six chickens when they ordered 10.

Now, when they order 10, at least they can get eight.

“The only problem is that the chickens don’t weigh more than 2kg like before; it’s about 1.6kg,” Lim told The Malaysian Insight.

“To meet demand, farmers are now expediting their output time to the market regardless of the weight.”

Consumers, too, have been understanding as there have been no complaints despite the reduced weight of the chickens in the market, he said.

Johor Small and Medium Poultry Farmers’ Association member Lau Ka Keng said production at his farm has decreased due to the lack of foreign workers.

“At least half of my staff left. So now I can only handle 100,000 chickens instead of 200,000,” he said.

Lau said just because they raise 1,000 broilers, it does not translate into 1,000 fresh chickens.

The quality of feed and weather also impact the number of chickens eventually going to the market, he said.

“Our chickens now weigh around 1.8kg each, but we don’t have enough manpower to process them,” he said.

While the government has expedited subsidy payouts, Lau said farmers have yet to receive them for March.

High prices of feed, lack of manpower and high broiler chick prices have led to a shortage of chicken in the market over the past month.

To ensure that there is enough supply for the domestic market, the government has stopped the export of chicken from July 1.

Feed quality and the weather

Another farmer who did not want to be named said the feed quality and weather have affected the growth rate of chickens.

The farmer said it would take at least three months for chickens to get back to the 2kg weight before they are sold in the market.

Subsidies, too, have not been paid since March, he said.

“We don’t have enough manpower and locals are not willing to work during our busiest time when we need to process the chickens,” he said.

While the export ban will help stabilise supply in the short term, he said in the long run, the problem can only be resolved by having enough manpower.

“In the past, we made RM1.70 gross profit for every chicken we sold. Now, we are losing RM1 for every chicken raised due to the lack of workers and the price of feed.”

To keep up with demand, he said, chickens are now being sold at a lower weight. – June 18, 2022.