Chicken price fixed at RM7.90 for Raya season

 

Maximum prices have been set for chicken, beef, eggs and seafood until May 20.

PUTRAJAYA: The retail price of standard chicken has been fixed at RM7.90 for the Aidilfitri festive season, from Wednesday (April 21) until May 20, domestic trade minister Alexander Nanta Linggi said today.

The price was set under the festive season maximum price control scheme after discussions with major chicken farm owners and the agriculture ministry, he said.

However, price control only involved live chicken, standard chicken and super chicken during the Aidilfitri festive period. “The prices of chicken parts which have been cut, such as the breast, leg and thigh are not controlled,’’ he added

Nanta said chicken prices had risen recently because of various factors, the most significant being the higher cost of imported maize and soya used as chicken feed.

The festive season price control scheme involves 12 items in four categories: chicken, chicken egg, meat and marine produce.

Nanta said price control was implemented at every level in the chicken distribution chain from farms to retail shops and would not burden chicken traders because everyone in the chicken distribution chain have obtained their respective profits.

He warned traders against raising the price of chicken or other items above the maximum price, and instead encouraged them to sell at a price lower than the fixed price.

The four categories of price controls are:

• Chicken – live chickens; standard chickens (slaughtered and cleaned with legs, head, liver and gizzard or any part thereof) as well as super chickens (slaughtered and cleaned without legs, head, liver and gizzard).
• Meat – local beef (maximum price in the Peninsula and Sabah only); imported beef (maximum price in Sarawak only) and imported buffalo meat (maximum price in the Peninsula, Sabah and the Federal Territory of Labuan only).
• Chicken egg – grade A eggs (weighing between 65 grams and 69.9g each); grade B (weighing between 60g and 64.9 g each) and grade C (weighing between 55g and 59.9g each);
• Seafood – mackerel including ikan mabung (Indian mackerel) – 7 to 10 fish per kg; ikan selayang (scad) – 7 to 10 fish per kg; and ikan aya or tongkol (skipjack tuna) – fish to 2 fish per kg. - FMT