Mohamad was responding to Radzi Jidin (PN-Putrajaya), who asked the minister whether the process to appoint the egg importer was done via open tender.

“It was not,” Mohamad told the Dewan Rakyat.

“We had to give (the import licence) to this specific (company) at the time as we wanted to fulfil the demand for eggs.

“The company is J&E (J&E Advance Tech Sdn Bhd), check and see who’s in there and who’s their chairman. I’m not hiding anything. I will reveal everything.

“This was a special case. Should the supply of eggs recover after this, the government will reduce or stop the import of eggs.”

In a Parliamentary written reply earlier this month, Mohamad said only one company had been given the green light to import eggs from India.

The decision to allow imports from India was made following a shortage in the supply of local eggs due to a drop in production from October to December last year.

Mohamad today said that the government would consider importing eggs from other countries in the event of disasters like floods, which previously affected egg production.

He added that import permits could only be issued to importers that fulfil requirements set out by the veterinary services department.

Mohamad also said the ministry is committed to ensuring that the country’s egg supply recovers to the pre-pandemic levels, adding that it is in talks with the egg producers who have promised to “flood” the market with supplies for the Aidilfitri celebrations.

“We hope this can be done smoothly and that there will be no major disasters (so) that (egg supply) will recover to what it used to be six years ago,” said Mohamad, adding that the country used to be a “major exporter” of eggs.