Jeffrey Ng, who is the adviser to the Federation of Livestock Farmers’ Associations of Malaysia, said the previous enforcement of price controls had kept these middlemen at bay.
“We hope the government takes action against such individuals (middlemen). If farm prices don’t rise but there is an uptick in chicken prices in the market, then it means that these middlemen are taking advantage (of the situation) to make huge profits,” he told FMT.
Earlier, agriculture and food security minister Mohamad Sabu announced that price controls and subsidies for chicken will end effective Nov 1.
He said the government had allocated a total of RM3.8 billion in subsidies to cover the cost of chicken and eggs since February 2022.
Commenting on the government’s decision, Ng said this move would encourage the livestock industry to continue growing and attract foreign investors.
“It will also strengthen the supply of broiler chickens and contribute positively to the country’s food security,” he said, assuring that there is adequate supply.
Perikatan Nasional’s Indian community committee, however, called on the government to reconsider its move to float chicken prices, given the current rising cost of living.
The committee’s chairman, SP Punithan, described the government’s decision as “insensitive” as Deepavali is just around the corner, falling on Nov 12.
“The government should be more sensitive in safeguarding the welfare of the people. They should not burden the people under the pretext of saving on subsidies and government funds.
“The government should seek alternative methods to curb leakages rather than ending subsidies,” he said in a statement.
Bernama quoted MIDF Research as saying that the market price of chicken would not increase substantially following the decision to remove subsidies and price controls for the food item.
It said the move would give chicken farmers the flexibility to adjust prices based on market supply and demand as well as the ability to pass on increased production costs to consumers.
“Additionally, we are optimistic that chicken producers will benefit from the normalisation of commodity prices such as corn, soybean meal, crude palm oil and wheat,” it added.
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