SHAH ALAM -- Chicken farmers and egg suppliers will once again enjoy government subsidies -- which was initially ended in August -- starting this month till December.
Said subsidies, remarked Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee, will be given at a rate of 80 cents per kilogram (kg) and eight cents per egg.
In a statement today, Ronald said, the Cabinet, on October 7 saw the need to ease the burden on farmers due to the continuous increase in production costs, especially the cost of chicken feed which covers 70 percent of production costs in addition to the cost of chicks, logistics, workers, utilities and medicines.
"This decision was made taking into account the ceiling price of standard chicken at the retail level is maintained at the rate of RM9.40/kg and the ceiling price of grade A, B and C chicken eggs at the retail level is maintained at the rate of 45 sen, 43 sen and 41 sen respectively one in Peninsular Malaysia," he said.
He added subsidy payments will be channeled directly to farmers' account through Agrobank and/or other existing mechanism involving private farmers, integrator or semi-integrator farmers and contract farmers.
The ministry will also ensure the payment process runs smoothly for the continuation of production at the farm level.
The implementation of the subsidies involves an additional funding of RM573.96 million from the government.
Ronald also pointed out that a total of RM1.233 billion was funnelled for chicken and egg subsidies starting from February to September 2022.
"As of last October 4, a total of 13,440 subsidy claims with a value of RM1.136 billion have been approved by the ministry and all breeders can continue to submit applications so that the subsidy can be channeled," he said.