KUALA LUMPUR: The government has decided to maintain the subsidies and control prices for grade A, B and C eggs, says agriculture and food security minister Mohamad Sabu.
He said the subsidies and price controls for poultry chicken, however, will end effective Nov 1.
“The termination of subsidies for chicken takes into account the current supply and price trends, with farm prices and chicken production costs having stabilised. This has contributed to the current market price being below the price ceiling.
“In this regard, the government will ensure that the selling price of chicken remains reasonable,” he said at a press conference at the Lembaga Pertubuhan Peladang (LPP) building here.
In announcing the 2024 budget, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that the government decided to lift the price controls on both chicken and eggs to let market forces determine prices.
Mohamad said the decision to maintain the price control and subsidy for eggs was made taking into account the extra cost consumers would have to bear otherwise.
“If the subsidy is removed, then we can expect the price of eggs to increase by about 10 sen per egg.
“Consumers don’t just buy a single egg, but a carton of it. So, then the price increase would actually be around RM3 (per carton) at this point in time,” he said.
He added that poultry farmers have provided assurance that they will endeavour to ensure sufficient supply of eggs.
“We (the government) will monitor the situation and make announcements from time to time,” he said.
On Saturday, Mohamad said the government was confident that the move to float the price of chicken would not lead to a sudden increase in prices.
He said this is because the production of chicken in the country is still sufficient.
“The ceiling price of chicken is RM9.40. The price of chicken in the market now is below the ceiling price. So we hope that with this float, the price of chicken does not exceed the ceiling price,” he said.
He added that the decision to proceed with floating chicken prices was made based on the ministry’s survey of the market and with the assurance from producers to fully cooperate so that the supply of chicken remains sufficient. - FMT
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