JOHOR BAHRU – The supply of chicken in Malaysia will be sufficient until the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations in April, said Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Salahuddin Ayub on Sunday.
He said consumers need not worry about chicken supply.
“I have received detailed information from the Veterinary Services Department. Officially, the data shows that there is enough supply until Aidilfitri,” he told reporters after distributing dates to visitors and traders at a Ramadan bazaar on Sunday, news agency Bernama reported.
Datuk Seri Salahuddin said his ministry’s enforcement officers have been instructed to tighten monitoring throughout the fasting month of Ramadan until after Aidilfitri.
“My advice to traders is if the government still sets a control price or ceiling price for chicken, which is RM9.40 (S$2.80) per kg, I hope it will be followed,” he said.
“If they are dealing with supply issues or need help from the ministry, we are ready to help.”
Separately, in Terengganu, the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living admitted there had been a drop of up to 33 per cent in the supply of eggs in the state since Ramadan began, owing to a shortage from out-of-state suppliers.
State ministry director Saharuddin Mohd Kia said people in the eastern state consume one million eggs a day and the supply received is about 600,000 eggs, but decreased to only around 400,000 eggs after the start of Ramadan.
“There are no egg farms in Terengganu, which gets its supply from farm operators in Melaka, Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Selangor and Perak,” he said in a statement on Sunday.
“The feedback received from egg wholesalers is that the main factor behind this sudden drop is... lack of eggs received from farm operators. There is increasing demand for eggs during Ramadan and the farms prioritise their own local markets first.”
Mr Saharuddin said purchases above the normal rate by consumers and micro-, small- and medium-enterprise operators, as well as Ramadan bazaar operators, also caused certain outlets to run out of eggs before the next shipment arrived. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
