Pork sellers cry for help

JOHOR BARU: The price of pork has increased a whopping 10 times so far this year, forcing some sellers to cut their profits to please their customers.

Prices have steadily risen to the current RM1,320 per 100 kg from RM720 per 100 kg earlier this year, said Central Johor Pork Sellers Association chairman Tee Chin Boon.

“The increase is more than 80% and this kind of jump has not happened before.

"According to suppliers, the price hikes are due to the increasing cost of animal feed and workers’ salaries, aside from the African Swine Fever that wiped out thousands of pigs in Negeri Sembilan and Melaka last year.

“The most recent price increase was on June 26 and we are not sure when it will go up again next,” he said.

Sales have been affected too, as customers were purchasing the now expensive meat in significantly lesser quantities, Tee added.

“Customers have been grumbling whenever they do their shopping as there was a period where pork prices increased each week.

As traders, we have to explain the reason to them nicely.

“It is quite tough on us; we are also cutting our profits to the very minimum in order to keep our customers happy because it will be worse if they decide to stop coming to our stall.

“We are not pocketing much as it is because when a whole pig comes to us, we can only sell about 60% of the animal where the rest such as head, bones and innards have to be discarded,” he said.

Tee hopes that the government could help find a solution to the matter for the benefit of consumers, like it did with the recent chicken crisis.

Meanwhile, South Johor Pork Sellers Association chairman Chia Soon Hup said the demand for the meat has taken a dip this month, which has led to a slow-down in slaughterhouse activities.

He said the number of animals slaughtered daily has gone down by around 100 heads after the Duan Wu Festival (Dumpling Festival), where pork is among the key ingredients for the rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves, ended in June.

“Though it is normal for the demand for pork to lessen around this time annually, I believe the hefty price tag has turned consumers away.

“Some customers told us they have chosen to consume other meats or meat products, which are cheaper compared to pork,” Chia said.

He added that the market situation is the worst he has seen in his 46 years in the industry.