‘New ceiling price a win-win situation’

KUALA LUMPUR: The ceiling price for the sale of chicken is a win-win situation for consumers and breeders, says Deputy Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Hamzah.

He said the government, through the Agriculture and Food Industry Ministry, would always conduct discussions with industry stakeholders to find out the problems they faced and at the same time, ensure the interests of consumers are protected.

“The government has set a ceiling price of RM9.40 and is providing a subsidy of RM1.20 to breeders for each kg of chicken.

“The total subsidies allocated are estimated to be RM369mil,” he said after launching the Keluarga Malaysia Direct From Farm Sale at the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) headquarters in Selayang yesterday, reported Bernama.

Ahmad said the government realised the current challenges faced by the industry, especially with regard to the rising costs of farming, were due to uncontrollable factors.

“We are not only facing weather issues but also unstable geopolitical problems such as the Russia-Ukraine war. The government understands, that’s why we are providing subsidies,” he said, adding that the supply of chicken was still adequate.

Ahmad said the move to abolish the Approved Permit (AP) to import chicken was good as it helped stabilise supply.

“To import and ensure we have adequate supply, we need to give opportunities to other parties,” he said.

On the sales programme, he said it gave consumers the opportunity to obtain necessities like chicken, fish, vegetables and fruits at affordable prices.

He added that the products were sold at an average discount of 10%.

The programme is expected to benefit over 420,000 consumers.

The ministry has targeted sales of over RM10.5mil under the programme.