JOHOR BARU: Poultry farmers want chicken exports to Singapore resumed quickly before the country loses its market to other competitors.
With Singapore importing 34% of chicken or 3.6 million birds from Malaysia, worth some US$18.9mil (RM84.24mil) in 2020, breeders say moving swiftly is imperative in order not to lose out to countries like Indonesia.
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“This is especially vital now because chicken supply in the country has stabilised,” said Johor Poultry Breeders (Small and Medium) Association secretary Lau Ka Leng.
“The longer we delay, the higher the chances of us losing out to other countries that are now exporting chicken to Singapore.
“Malaysia still has the upper hand due to being located nearby and having the ability to send live chicken supplies that will be processed and frozen in Singapore.
“We do not want the island republic’s consumers to be accustomed to the chicken supply from Indonesia, which is frozen, chilled and processed meat,” he said.
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He added that the price of chickens from Indonesia would also be more expensive to cover the shipping cost.
He also said that the association has sent a request to the government to lift the export ban.
In Parliament on Monday, Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee said Malaysia was now in a situation where there was an oversupply of chicken and hence was in a position to export chicken.
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Kiandee said Malaysia faced disruption in chicken production several months ago, but this had been overcome by policy measures, including increasing imports and ceasing exports.
The move, he added, resulted in an oversupply of chicken and caused the price to drop below the ceiling price set by the government.
Lau said currently, the local poultry industry would only be able to send about one million birds per month to Singapore, compared to three million before the export ban was introduced on June 1.
In order to be competitive, the price of chicken from Malaysia should be affordable compared to the supply of frozen chicken that Singapore currently imports from Indonesia and Thailand.
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Johor Chicken Wholesaler Association president Mohd Azmi Abdullah said a delay in lifting the export ban would only kill the poultry industry in the country due to oversupply.
“The ceiling price for chicken is RM9.40 per kg. When oversupply occurs, the price of chicken will go down, but at the same time, the cost of breeding chickens does not change.
“Those with huge capital might be able to survive with the help of the government subsidy, but the smaller breeders will have to run their business at a loss and eventually close down,” he said.
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To help the industry recover, Mohd Azmi said the government should remove the ceiling price of chicken and only introduce it during festive seasons.
“This was done before, and it is high time we return to the previous regulations.
“If the government is worried that the export might reduce our supply, then limit the export. We could always start the export with 10% or 30% and gradually increase the figure when needed.
“This is crucial if we want to make sure there is a flow in our market,” he said, adding that another wave of supply shortage would occur in September if poultry breeders decide to reduce supply to cut cost.
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The government had earlier banned the export of up to 3.6 million chickens from June 1 in its efforts to tackle the supply and pricing issues for chickens.
Prior to this, Singapore imported about a third of its chicken, or more than two million birds per month, from Malaysia.
Following Malaysia’s export ban, Singapore said it expected more supplies of chilled chicken from Australia, Indonesia and Thailand, as well as frozen chicken from Brazil and the United States.
