Keeping chicken prices in check

KUALA LUMPUR: Areas detected to be selling food items at high prices will be “micromanaged” as part of a series of immediate measures to ensure the current price monitoring process is effective, says acting Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali.

The ministry had identified areas where chicken was being sold above the previous ceiling price of RM9.40 per kg, he said.

“In some places, there are sellers who offer chicken at about RM11 per kg, but when we go to other premises in the same area, they are able to sell chicken below RM9.40. We have said that the highest (price of chicken) is RM9.40. If there is a supply problem, we will resolve that with the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry,” he added.

However, if some premises continue to charge high prices, Armizan said more regular visits would be made by enforcement officers who would get to the bottom of the issue.

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“We will determine the operational cost of the premises and how much its profit margin is.

“If the profit margin is ridiculously high, we will advise (the business) or take the necessary action according to the law.

“If some premises in the same area can offer lower prices, it shows that they can afford to sell chicken below RM9.40. We want to ensure this, which is why we will ‘micromanage’,” he said.

Other price-monitoring actions include continuous checks, area- targeted solutions, and expanding intervention programmes in problematic areas.

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“The first approach is to do continuous monitoring on the ground by our enforcement officers where relevant laws will be used to resolve arising issues.

“Second is the implementation of ‘area-targeted solutions’ according to certain problematic locations that we identify.

“And finally, we will expand intervention programmes in areas facing certain issues, which include several places in the peninsula, Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan that we have identified.

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“These three approaches are being carried out, effective immediately,” Armizan told a press conference at Wisma Rampai here yesterday.

Over 2,000 enforcement and about 900 price-monitoring officers are being deployed regularly to ensure sellers abide by the price limits of certain items, he added.On Wednesday, Armizan said the price of chicken can be much lower than the previously set price of RM9.40 per kg, even after the subsidy and price control were removed that same day.

He also said industry players assured the government that there would not be a surge in chicken prices.