Poultry breeders to submit memorandum on chicken eggs supply to PM
MOHAMAD AMREEL IMAN ABD MALEK20 Dec 2022 10:19am
Some customers choose imported eggs at a supermarking in Pasir Puteh, Kelantan due to the current shortage of local eggs.
According to sources, breeders, nationwide, are expected to meet with the premier next week to propose a solution to the supply issue.
"Our memorandum will detail on the matters we want the prime minister to look at such as. subsidies and any form of aid from the government," the source said when contacted by Sinar today (Monday).
Agriculture and Food Security Ministry (MAFS) was previously reported as saying that efforts were ongoing by the ministry to find a solution on the issue of supply, such as continoues discussions with stakeholders in the poultry industry.
Its minister Mohamad Sabu said the government had also began importing chicken eggs from several foreign suppliers identified by the ministry.
Mohamad Sabu.
The source explained that the drastic move needed to be taken due to market problems over past five months.
The lack of chicken egg supply to meet the increasing demand nationwide, was caused by the current price of chicken eggs, allegedly not in accordance with the cost of productivity.
Poultry breeders expressed that the cost of breeding chickens for egg production has increased over time. Subsidies given by the government couldn't seem to solve the problem.
"The government had given a subsidy of eight cents for an egg in October. In Nov, it added another two cents and adding another 10 per cent in Dec. We could make a little profit at the time.
"However, we know that it would take around six months to solve the issue of lack of supply in the country and this can't happen immediately. Food for chickens such as corn are imported from abroad, this has increased lately.
"The price for one tonne of corn was RM850, last year. In April, it doubled to RM1,800. But it has dropped to RM1,600 now," the source added.
It will be difficult for poultry breeders to sustain for next 10 years if the situation continues, he added.
