Govt to help prawn breeders affected by sales drop

GEORGE TOWN - The Agriculture and Food Security Ministry says it is ready to help prawn breeders amidst claims that they are suffering a more than 40 per cent drop in sales over the past two months due to the abundance of imported prawns.

Its Deputy Minister Chan Foong Hin said the Fisheries Department and the Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia (LKIM) would help affected farmers in terms of marketing.

"The most important thing for these local prawn breeders is to look for ways to improve their competitiveness and I think this issue is more about the sales mechanism," he told reporters after officiating the closing ceremony of Penang Fama Fest 2023, at the Bukit Jambul Complex, near here, today.

Chan said this when asked to comment on the statement of the Malaysian Prawn Industry Association chairman Syed Omar Syed Jafaar who was reported as saying that more than 3,000 local prawn breeders throughout the country have incurred losses because the selling price of prawn in the current market was lower than the operating cost.

Syed Omar claimed the issue was due to the presence of prawns from Thailand and Indonesia which causes the supply to exceed the existing demand.

Chan said the abundance of prawns can provide an advantage to consumers as it allows them to buy prawns at a reasonable price.

He said the government has never adopted any policy that prevents the entry of imported food supplies as it practices free trade in terms of the supply of food.

''We must look at this issue from two angles, where local entrepreneurs find it difficult to compete with importers, but at the same time the people can enjoy prawns at reasonable prices,'' he said. - BERNAMA