JOHOR BARU, June 13 — Johor PKR’s Hassan Abdul Karim today said that the federal government’s decision to continue egg and chicken subsidies has been touted as a timely move that will strengthen the industries involved.
The Pasir Gudang MP said the decision should be supported as the provision of subsidies will primarily mean that the poultry and egg farming industries can thrive to produce sufficient supply for the market.
“The secondary effect will see the government enforcing price controls on eggs and chickens as both industries are subsidised.
“Following that, when the price of eggs and chickens are controlled and the supply is stable, it means that the people can afford to buy both as they are sources of food,” said Hassan in a statement this evening.
The lawyer and social activist was commenting on Putrajaya’s announcement last Friday that it will continue subsidising egg and chicken production to retain price controls on the two food staples beyond July 1.
Previously, the government had planned to float prices or remove the maximum selling prices of chicken and egg from July 1.
Hassan, who is also a member of the special select committee on Entrepreneurship, Cost of Living and Agriculture, however, said that the government’s move to continue subsidising eggs and chickens is only temporary given that the cost of producing both food staples has risen sharply.
He said this was due to the price of imported chicken feed soaring due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the disrupted supply chain and the falling value of the Malaysian Ringgit against the US Dollar.
“The federal government is well aware that the measures to provide subsidies for the supply of eggs and chickens need to be reviewed when the production industry recovers and is independent.
“So, at that time when the industry is prepared, then the subsidies should be terminated, where egg and chicken producers are able to sell at a reasonable price and the producers can still make a profit,” he said.
Hassan added that the federal government can then save tens of billions of ringgit a year when subsidies are no longer needed once the egg and chicken industries recover.
“The above situation may be achieved in the not too distant future. However, for now the egg and chicken subsidy still needs to be continued,” he said.
On June 9, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that the federal government has agreed to continue providing the egg and chicken subsidies starting July 1.
The matter was communicated via a joint statement by the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry and the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry.