Price of chicken expected to increase from February, says Nanta

Nanta said this is due to chicken farmers being burdened with various operational costs and the increased price of imported feed.

However, he said, the price hike will not burden the consumers thus creating a win-win situation for all.

According to him, KPDNHEP will look for the best mechanism through cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries (MAFI) to stabilize the price at the retail and wholesale level.

“As of now, chicken ceiling price until February 4 is RM9.10 per kilogram at the retail level, so on Thursday (Jan 6), we had a discussion as the poultry farmers association were complaining about the price of poultry and the operational cost that is said to be on a rise.

“That is why I call for the involvement of MAFI, Agrobank, and the Financial Ministry to help reduce the burden stemming from their operational cost,” he said.

He made the statement after visiting the flood victims at the temporary flood relief center (PPS) in Sungai Rambai at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Sungai Rambai here, on Friday.

Commenting further, he said, the current maximum ceiling price of the chicken is classified as low and needs to be reevaluated between the sellers and the consumers.

“Other than being considerate towards the consumers, we also need to think about the sellers because if they are not able to resume the operations, we might not have the supply.

“We should be sensitive to the matter and I would like to plead to all consumers to understand the situation.

“As a consumer, we want a low price for the product but at the production level, if they are not able to produce the supply, and we are the ones who are going to face the problem in the future,” he said.

He urged the rakyat not to worry as the ministry will continue to protect the interest of the consumers, apart from MAFI who will be importing frozen chicken.

“But as of now it has not entered the market yet because if it does, we might already have a lot of supply and competition might occur and the price might go down on its own,” he said.