THE approval to export chicken will only be considered if the domestic chicken supply is not affected, so as to ensure the price of chicken can be controlled, said Annaur Musa, who is chairman of the Special Task Force on Jihad against Inflation. 

The issue involving the provision of subsidies to chicken farmers to enable standard chicken to be sold at the retail ceiling price of RM9.40 per kg in Peninsular Malaysia also needs to be fine-tuned, he said. 

“Apart from the issue of export, we also have to deal with the issue of how long the subsidy is to be maintained. If we suddenly allow exports and end subsidies, the price of chicken will soar again. 

“We have to make sure that domestic supply is not affected at the expense of pursuing a higher profit margin, especially Singapore, which is willing to buy at a higher price,” he told reporters in Putrajaya today. 

He said this when asked to comment on a statement by Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Rosol Wahid that the cabinet will today finalise the decision as to whether farmers can export chicken. 

Annuar, who is also communications and multimedia minister, said the cabinet had discussed the permission to export chicken, towards which the Veterinary Services Department had submitted several recommendations. 

“The cabinet has not made any decision (on the permission to export chicken). The relevant ministries and departments will follow up on data preparation and so on,” he said. 

Annuar said that at the moment, the domestic need for chickens in the country is about 70 million birds per month, or about 2.2 million chickens a day. 

Although it is said that the supply currently exceeds the daily requirement at about 3.5 million chickens, the government will only allow exports if it does not affect domestic needs. 

He added that the task force has ordered the Statistics Department to conduct a study to determine the actual cost of chicken at farm level. – Bernama, August 17, 2022.