Only one company allowed to import eggs into M'sia, says Mat Sabu

KUALA LUMPUR: Only one company has been given the green light to import eggs from India during the supply shortage in 2022, says Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu.

In a Parliamentary written reply, the Agriculture and Food Security Minister said the issue involving shortages in the supply of eggs in the local market took place when there was a reduction in production from October to December last year.

He added that the move was a short-term measure by the ministry, as it allowed the import of fresh white eggs from India, weighing between 50 to 55g.

Mohamad said that these eggs can be classified as grade D in Malaysia or medium in India.

"The company was given the permission to import eggs from India based on their experience in exporting eggs from India to Qatar to fulfil the demand during the 2022 World Cup," he said.

Mohamad said this in reply to a question from Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan (PN-Tasik Gelugor), who asked the government to reveal which companies had approved permits (AP) to import eggs from India and the duration of the permits.

He said that a total of 13.4 billion eggs were produced in 2018, followed by 10.9 billion in 2019, 12.9 billion in 2020, 13.6 billion in 2021 and 13.3 billion in 2022.

In the first two months of this year, he said a total of 2.4 billion eggs were produced.

“On average, Malaysia needs 11.6 billion eggs per year to meet domestic demand, with an average consumption of 968 million eggs monthly,” he said.

“The production record clearly shows it is sufficient for domestic needs every year and there is a surplus for Malaysia to export," added Mohamad.