Poultry Farmers Call for Price Rise
MALAYSIA - The Malaysian Federation of Livestock Farmers' Association has called for a price increase to cover rising costs.According to The Star, Sin Chew Daily reports that consumers may have to pay more for chicken. The Federation of Livestock Farmers' Association has proposed that the price should be MYR6.10 per kilo.
The Association’s broiler unit chairman Kwei Yew Tong is reported to have said that the rise is necessary to reflect higher transportation charges following fuel price increases.
Chicken farmers can no longer sell below production cost, he said. "The production cost has increased to MYR4.60 but we are still distributing chicken at MYR3.80, which is 20 sen below the ceiling price."
Mr Kwei said the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry’s suggestion to import chicken from Indonesia and Thailand is nonsense as these countries constantly have bird flu.
He stated that production cost and price of chicken in neighbouring countries are currently higher than Malaysia and with the additional transport costs, imported chicken would definitely exceed the MYR4.00 ex-farm price fixed by the government.
Farmers would be forced to cease production if the government does not increase the ceiling price for chicken, Mr Kwei said, according to the report in The Star.