Fewer eggs with farms being closed

Eggs-tra careful: A man arranging eggs for delivery in Puchong, Selangor. — AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: An egg shortage in the country could worsen soon, with farmers saying they are losing money in producing food staples.

The closure of about 40% of poultry farms – which have fallen from over 300 to just 170 – is not helping.

Those still operating say they need better subsidies to keep prices low, especially with the doubling of chicken feed prices.

Many of them say they are also on the brink of folding.

The farmers say they lose 5 sen per egg despite the government subsidy of 5 sen each.

Federation of Livestock Farmers Associations of Malaysia deputy president Lee Yoon Yeau said the war in Ukraine had pushed maize and soybean meal prices up by another 50% between April and June.

“Maize and soybean meal make up over 80% of chicken feed.

“Since the pandemic two years ago, farmers have been struggling due to the increasing feed cost.

“Maize used to cost RM800 per tonne before the pandemic. During Covid-19, it went up to RM1,300 per tonne.

“Now, it’s more than RM1,800 per tonne,” he said yesterday.

Soybean meal, he added, now costs over RM2,650 per tonne, up from RM1,650 in January 2020.

Lee said although the government had set the ceiling price at 35 sen per egg (Grade C) from Feb 5 to June 30, the cost of production had risen to 45 sen per egg.

“So, with a 5 sen per egg subsidy, we lose 5 sen.

“With the current daily production of 28 million tonnes, the loss is RM1.04mil daily and RM42mil monthly for farmers,” he said.

For July and August, the government has announced an increase of 2 sen in ceiling price per egg, with nothing said about the subsidy.

Lee, the federation’s poultry layer unit chairman, said the federation wanted a subsidy of 8 sen per egg to be able to sell at cost price.

“We are not talking about profits, but only to break even so we can pay our suppliers and workers,” he said.

Lee said that many small farmers had shut down for good, while the bigger farms had scaled down production, mainly because they could not operate at a loss.

“Also, the increase in the minimum wage from RM1,200 to RM1,500 in May, and other cost increases, have made things worse for farmers,” he said.

He warned that a shortage of eggs would occur if farmers were forced to continue selling at a loss.

“If the government is not keen to provide a reasonable subsidy, it should allow prices to be floated and let market forces decide.

“The farmers are now holding on to their last breath in the intensive care unit. The poultry industry could collapse soon,” he said.

Lee noted that floating the prices was not new in Malaysia because, in the past, egg prices were only controlled during festive seasons.

On the egg shortage in Sabah, federation committee member Chia Seong Pow said more shortages were expected as farmers slash production due to the high costs.

“If the business environment is not conducive, farmers will certainly cut down production.

“We cannot just halt production because the chicks and chickens are still there,” he said.