JOHOR BARU: The abolishment of the egg subsidy – taking place in August – is not likely to raise food prices here, say restaurant owners and associations.
“I have not increased the price of food in my restaurants for a long time despite the rising cost of ingredients, and I do not plan to start now,” said Rifayudheen Ahmad Khan, who runs three restaurants in Johor Baru and Pasir Gudang.
Furthermore, he said, the removal of the subsidy is not expected to affect the operating costs of eateries that much.
“We will still stick to the same price as we do not want to burden our customers,” added Rifayudheen, 37.
The Agriculture and Food Security Ministry has made it known that price controls on eggs would be lifted in the coming months, with the subsidy reduced from 10 sen to five sen per egg from May 1 onwards. The subsidy will then be fully abolished come Aug 1.
Robin Jian, 63, the owner of a restaurant in Johor Baru, declared that he would absorb any additional costs.
He said that while there had been price increases over the past few years for a number of basic ingredients, he had always opted to absorb the cost instead of burdening his customers.
“So, we will do the same this time. I plan to maintain prices for as long as I can,” he said, adding that he had yet to see a significant spike in egg prices so far.
Johor Indian Muslim Entrepreneurs Association secretary-general Hussein Ibrahim noted that the subsidy removal is much more likely to affect families than restaurants and other businesses.
“For now, the reduction of the subsidy from 10 sen to five sen has not caused any effect. And I believe the full removal of the subsidy in August will not make much of a difference either.
“I believe most restaurant operators will opt to absorb the extra cost rather than raise food prices,” he added.
Johor Baru Business and Hawker Association president Roland Lim said businesses are observing the matter closely, adding that it is too soon to know the extent of the impact on prices from the complete removal of the subsidy.
“Even with the reduction of the subsidy since early this month, it has not caused much impact.
“In fact, the price of eggs went down slightly recently because of consistent supply. As such, the chances of this leading to higher food prices here are not likely, but we will have to wait and see,” he said.
