ALOR STAR: The Consumer Association of Kedah (Cake) today called on authorities to investigate those responsible behind the recent spike in the prices of processed chicken.
While lauding action taken against errant chicken retailers, the consumer rights watch body stressed that action must also be taken against the "invisible hands" behind the recent price hike.
"We are calling for the Domestic Trade and Consumers Affairs Ministry to carry out a thorough investigations into the whole supply chain from the chicken farmers, suppliers, and these so-called "middlemen" that we all know are acting as "invisible hands" that play a role in inflating the prices," its honorary secretary Yusrizal Yusoff told the New Straits Times.
Yusrizal pointed out that in Cake's observations on the whole chicken supply chain, it found that the cost of running livestock farms was not that costly.
However, he said when the birds reached the suppliers, they would start to manipulate the prices.
"During periods of high demand such as festivals, the prices are marked up.
"Nobody is keeping an eye on these suppliers, so we hope that the authorities will consider this and investigate the suppliers so that we can control the price inflation," he said.
Yusrizal was responding to the ministry's move to slap compounds totalling RM65,300 to errant chicken stall operators in Kuala Lumpur for selling standard chicken beyond the RM8.90 per kg ceiling price as well as failing to display price tags.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi was reported yesterday as saying that the compounds were issued during the nationwide enforcement from Feb 5 to April 5 at 39,950 premises selling standard chicken.
He said up to 18 premises violated the law by increasing the ceiling price while 470 premises failed to display price tags.
He was responding to NST's front page report on Wednesday on the hike in standard chicken ceiling prices from RM8.90 per kg up to RM11 and RM9.50 per kg at the Lucky Garden and Taman Tun Dr Ismail wet markets. - NST
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