The agriculture and food security minister said the decision to float the prices was aimed at allowing the domestic trade and cost of living ministry to study whether the prices would increase or decrease compared to the current ceiling price, Sinar Harian reported.

“We are confident that the ministry will ensure that there is enough supply of eggs and chicken now and there will be even more supply in the next five to six months unless something untoward happens,” he said.

Last month, Mohamad said the government was studying the need to float the prices of chicken eggs as well as providing subsidies for the B40 group.

The current retail price ceiling for a standard chicken is RM9.40 per kilogramme while the price for eggs are Grade A (45 sen per egg), Grade B (43 sen per egg) and Grade C (41 sen per egg) in the peninsula, while in Langkawi, Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan, the maximum price for both items differ according to its respective zones and districts.