Chicken shortage has led to some traders selling above ceiling price

The lack of chicken supply has led to some traders selling above the set ceiling price, but it can still be bought for as low as RM6.99 per kg in the market.

A survey by Bernama found that most traders sold whole chickens at RM8.90 per kg as set by the government.

Based on the daily price update in the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry’s Price Catcher application, as of yesterday, the standard whole chicken was sold for between RM6.99 and RM9.50 per kg, while the super whole chicken was priced between RM7.90 and RM10.90 per kg in Kuala Lumpur.

The lowest price at Lotus's Selayang was RM6.99 per kg, while some premises were selling at RM8.90 per kg including Mydin (Sinar Kota), Ong Tai Kim Supermarket (Sentul), Pudu Market, NSK Trade City (Jalan Peel) and Batu 5 Market.

The application provides the lowest and highest prices based on the ministry’s survey within the past three months and can be set according to the radius of the area.

In Kelantan, trader Hafiz Mustapa, 34, said he had to increase the price of chicken by RM2 per bird due to the lack of supply over the past three days.

"Previously, I got a supply of 50 chickens a day at a price of around RM10 to RM11 each, but now I get only 20 chickens at a price of RM12 each," he said.

In Perak, a survey found that the price of standard chicken in shops and wet markets around Ipoh increased to RM9.30 per kg yesterday compared to the usual RM8.30 per kg.

A trader, Muhammad Qusyairi, 30, said the prices of chicken had increased due to the lack of supply.

In Selangor, a survey in several locations found that chickens were sold out at prices of between RM8.90 and RM10.50 per kg.

Meanwhile, in Pahang and Malacca, a survey found that chicken was sold at a fixed rate, but traders were charging additional fees for chicken cutting services of between 60 sen and RM1 per kg.

Meanwhile, in Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Terengganu and Kedah, chicken supplies were available at public markets and supermarkets at government-set prices.

In Sabah, chicken was still being sold at the controlled price of around RM11 per kg, while chicken parts were priced between RM11 and RM14 per kg.

The government had previously set the ceiling price of chicken at RM8.90 per kg with a subsidy of RM729.43 million provided under the Keluarga Malaysia Price Control Scheme since Feb 5.

- Bernama