Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming said the decision to ban chicken exports, which he said “may look like a workable short-term solution”, had ended up hurting chicken producers and chicken imports instead.
“Even though this ban was eased in the middle of June, the damage to the industry had already been done,” the former deputy international trade and industry minister said in a statement.
“This impact was felt most strongly in Singapore, which imports one-third of its chicken supplies from Malaysia, including almost all of its live chickens.”
The DAP MP pointed out that the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) announced a list of new farms and establishments which could export chicken products to Singapore, including from Australia, Brazil and Thailand, as well as the approval of three establishments in Indonesia to export chicken meat and related meat products to the country.
He said the agriculture and food industries ministry must understand that the path to food security was not through providing enough supply for the domestic market, but also by producing enough supply to export to foreign markets.
“Instead of harming local chicken farmers by short-term policies such as the export ban and by putting in price controls that are not reflective of the underlying cost of production, Mafi (the ministry) should be putting in place plans to help our chicken farmers expand their domestic production and access to foreign markets.”
Ong suggested that the ministry work together with the Federation of Livestock Farmers Association of Malaysia to provide soft loans through Agrobank for long-term investments and expansion in this sector.
He said market access for chicken producers should be expanded to other countries, including the halal markets in the Middle East.
“Mafi should also utilise its agencies on how to assist the industry to increase its productivity and reduce the reliance on foreign workers including through investments in automation and Industry 4.0 best practices,” he said.
He also stressed the need for the ministry to work with state governments and land-owning government-linked companies (GLCs) to identify areas for new chicken farms, including through strategic joint venture partnerships.
He said the ministry should assure export markets, especially Singapore, that such export bans would not be implemented again and that contractual sanctity would be respected.
“Strategic thinking, coordination and planning are needed on the part of Mafi and the government to prevent further closures from happening, especially since the cost pressures on chicken farmers will continue to be present.”
In June, Malaysia partly eased a ban on chicken exports it implemented the month before, allowing poultry importers abroad to resume the importation of live premium chickens from Malaysia.