PETALING JAYA: The supply of whole chicken has generally recovered and stabilised in some parts of the Klang Valley.
Homemaker Wong Ee Ling, 55, said she noticed an increase in chicken supply at her local grocer in Cheras.
She added that at the height of the whole chicken shortage, there was barely any stock at the store by mid-morning.
But the situation has now changed.
“A few months ago, I needed to come to the store very early in the morning because by 10am the supply would have run out.
“But now, I notice that there is a larger supply of chicken,” she said, adding that the stores in her area still sell according to the advised ceiling price.
Yesterday, Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee said there was currently an oversupply of chicken in the market following “effective” intervention measures taken by the government to stabilise supplies.
Another homemaker, Looi, who prefers her first name, said the stock for whole chicken had also increased at her local market in Petaling Jaya.
However, she said the ceiling price for chicken was not observed in all shops.
“There were a few sellers who sold higher than the ceiling price. I’m not sure why.
“However, generally most of the sellers have reduced their prices as there is more supply now,” she added.
A customer service executive known as Fadzli, 31, said he also noticed that there was more chicken supply now at his local supermarket in Kuala Lumpur.
“Compared to a few months ago, I think the supply has stabilised and the price is more reasonable now,” he said.
Chicken seller Mohammad Faiz Yahaya said there was enough poultry supply at his store and prices had gone down.
“I used to sell chicken at RM8.80 per kg when the supply was low, but now I can sell it at RM6.80 per kg.
“I think the price for a kilogramme of chicken has stabilised and I can now sell up to 50 birds per day,” he said at his shop in Kampung Melayu Subang, Selangor.
Another chicken supplier from Batu Caves, Selangor, who only wished to be known as Adi, agreed, saying that the chicken supply currently was enough.
However, he warned that the shortage could possibly recur.
“The supply for chicken is back to normal.
“But there might be a decrease soon as the cost of production is still expensive.
“This is because the price for chicken feed is still very high and some farmers cannot afford to produce more,” he said.
Adi suggested that the government look into the cost of producing chicken and monitor the price of chicken feed.
