A secretariat has been set up to monitor chicken prices and ensure adequate supply ahead of the coming festivities, reports The Star.

Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, said the secretariat would focus on chicken meat as it was the cheapest and most widely consumed source of protein by Malaysians.

He told reporters at the Chow Kit Market in Kuala Lumpur: "All aspects that go into the production of chicken will be monitored to see how best to ensure adequate supply and pricing."

He noted that chicken prices had risen from 7 ringgit (MYR) per kilo last year to about MYR7.80 now.

He attributed the rise in chicken prices to local and external factors ranging from the increase in prices of day-old chicks to global prices of maize and fuel.

To counter this, he said the secretariat would look at the viability of sourcing chicken feed, such as maize, from India where a Malaysian-born entrepreneur is involved in large-scale corn cultivation.

Mr Muhyiddin said the secretariat was a joint effort between the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism and the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries.

The move, he added, was part of the special committee set up by the Government to monitor some 355 food items each month as a means of keeping tabs on inflation which stood at about 3.3 per cent.

On a separate matter, Mr Muhyiddin said that Kuala Lumpur City Hall would initiate a redevelopment plan for the Chow Kit Market.

The Star reports that he added the move was aimed at upgrading and enhancing the market for some 1,400 poultry traders there.

The concept plan for the redevelopment would be ready in two weeks time for feedback before implementation.

He assured genuine licensed traders that they would be allowed to continue their business there.