Poultry wholesalers traditionally see brisk sales during the seventh lunar month, which starts on 1 August. But perhaps not this year, reports Channel News Asia.

Chinese Singaporeans celebrate the Hungry Ghost Festival by making offerings of cooked chicken and duck.

This year, the industry predicts poor sales because of higher prices. More than 18,000 live ducks and 120,000 chickens are coming into the country from Malaysia daily. Prices are up by 5 to 7 per cent as the result of the Indian ban on maize exports, which is raising feed prices even further for Malaysian producers.

"We tend to see the best business during the seventh lunar month - often 10 to 15 per cent higher than other months," said Joseph Heng, chairman of Poultry Merchants’ Association, "but with import costs up, I think our sales may actually fall."

Channel NewsAsia reports that some Malaysian poultry farms have started to reduce output and the drop in supply will be noticeable by September.

View the Channel NewsAsia story by clicking here.