Aqim Marzuki, a livestock breeder from Cattle Queen Ranch in Kluang, Johor, said it could also affect food security.

She said some of her animals had been experiencing breathing difficulties and there had been a decline in feed quality.

Productivity among workers had also reduced as they could not spend too long working in the field, she added.

Aqim said the grass for the animals had also failed to grow luxuriantly because of the heatwave.

“The grass is not as green as it should be and this affects the quality of the feed,” she told FMT.

Although the heatwave had not caused prices of goods to increase, Aqim said it would lead to lower production.

“Less production will lead to a hike in the price, and we (livestock breeders) will have to bear higher costs or invest more to water the grass or pay overtime because our workers have to work at night. These costs will increase our selling price.”

She said the El Niño phenomenon – expected in the second half of the year – which is typically associated with rising temperatures, would worsen the situation.

Aqim said while precautionary measures were being taken, breeders were waiting on the agriculture and food security ministry to provide an update on how they intend to help those in the industry.

Poultry vendor Richard Wan, however, said business had not been affected by the heatwave and he did not expect prices to rise any time soon, especially since farmers were trying to get rid of their stocks.

“The climate will affect poultry farmers and the heatwave can cause chickens to die faster. Prices (however) are quite stable so far,” he said.

Previously, vegetable farmers said the heatwave had led to an increase in pest population, resulting in a drop in vegetable production and a rise in vegetable prices by up to 40%.

They also said more costs had been incurred as they had to water their crops more often during the heatwave to prevent the vegetables from wilting.

The hot weather is expected to last till August.