Buy only what you need, consumers urged

SEREMBAN: Consumers have been told not to buy more chicken eggs than they need during a shortage in some areas in the state.

State Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Department director Muhammad Zahir Mazlan said checks conducted since early this month showed that there was a shortage at the retail level in several areas, especially Nilai.

“This is due to higher demand from consumers with the coming festive season.

“We would like to advise consumers not to panic buy or to buy in large quantities as this will only cause a disruption to the local supply chain,” he said, adding that consumers should stick to buying the usual number of eggs they needed.

Muhammad Zahir said as of Oct 18, there were over 308,000 eggs of various grades in the market.

He said the reduction in supply in some areas had not led to an increase in prices.

The retail price for a Grade A egg is 45 sen, Grade B (43 sen) and Grade C (41 sen). The grades are according to weight, with Grade A being the biggest.

Despite the shortage of supply at some retailers, the department had only received one complaint through its online system.

“We got to know that there was short supply at a business premises in Nilai.

“An inspection was quickly carried out in the vicinity and we found that only that particular outlet had a shortage, which was attributed to higher than usual demand,” he said.

Muhammad Zahir said checks at two egg farms in the state also showed production level to be normal.

To ensure a sufficient supply, the department would continue to monitor the situation at selected dedicated district retailers in the state. There are 151 such outlets in the state.

He said besides normal outlets, consumers could also buy eggs at “Jualan Murah Keluarga Malaysia” held every weekend in every state constituency, where the prices of eggs and other foodstuff were competitive.

Consumers can forward their complaints by contacting the department at 1 800 886 800, enforcement command centre at 03-8882 6088/6245, WhatsApp to 019-279 4317 or email [e-mail].