M’sia Official Said Chicken Shortage Crisis Might Resolve After a Month

Previously, Malaysia’s Health Minister said that the chicken export ban is unlikely to last a few months.

On 4 June, Malaysia’s Veterinary Services Department director-general Norlizan Mohd Noor told reporters that the shortage is expected to resolve in a month.

He added that supply would have increased enough to meet demand during the Hari Raya Haji celebrations, which start on 10 July.

Why Ban Chicken Exports?

The impetus behind the decision is to stabilise the domestic prices and supply of chicken within Malaysia. This was initially prompted by complaints from Malaysian citizens.

Malaysian customers have been complaining about the rising chicken prices, such that some retailers are even resorting to rationing their sales.

By banning chicken exports, it will increase the local supply of chicken and thus decrease chicken prices in Malaysia.

Increased Production, Removed Permits

Director-general Norlizan said that the government’s intervention, together with engagements with industry players, have placed Malaysia in the recovery process.

The government, apart from banning chicken exports, have also removed the need to have government permits to import chickens.

Additionally, they enforced a price ceiling of RM8.90 per kg of chicken between 5 February and 5 June. However, some sellers are pricing chicken as high as RM17 per kg.

Open Poultry Houses More Susceptible to External Factors

Industry players have shared that the supply of chicken was influenced by factors like rising local temperatures, diseases, and insufficient manpower.

Nearly 80% of Malaysian chicken breeders use open poultry houses. This makes the chickens more susceptible to factors like hot weather or disease-carrying flies, which could be why they’re producing fewer chickens.

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Singapore’s Supply of Fresh Chicken Dwindling

Did you know that Singapore imports about 34% of our fresh chicken from Malaysia?

Given how Malaysia has implemented the export ban and how everyone was panic-buying chicken, the local supermarkets’ stocks of fresh chicken is slowly but surely dwindling.

In fact, according to Shin Min Daily News, many industry players said that the current supply of fresh chicken can only last for about one more week before running out.

To deal with this situation, supermarkets are now stocking up on Thai chilled chicken. You can read more about it here.

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Featured Image: Shutterstock / JKuy