Govt needs 1-2 months to decide on lifting chicken export ban

 

The government will wait another month or two before lifting the ban on chicken exports, said Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said this is necessary to ensure the country’s chicken supply is sufficient and the price is stable even though there is an oversupply of chicken in the market.

“We have discussed it in the cabinet but we cannot make a decision yet as the chicken price is still subsidised.

“We will wait for one or two months, when this subsidy ends on Aug 31 and there is still a lot of supply and the price is low, then we may be able to allow exports.

“We don't want (to allow chicken exports) if the country’s chicken supply is insufficient causing the price to go up,” he added.

The prime minister was speaking in an interview which was part of the “Inspirasi Setahun Keluarga Malaysia” broadcast on local TV stations, including Bernama TV, today.

The government put a ban on chicken exports from June 1 to address the shortage of chicken that caused prices to increase.

However, there was recently an oversupply of chicken in the market, causing poultry farmers to urge the government to lift the export ban.

On the Special Task Force on Jihad Against Inflation set up by the government, Ismail Sabri said the task force is not only focused on tackling the issue of rising prices of goods but its role has also expanded to address overall inflation.

Initially, only relevant ministries were involved in the task force, he said.

However, after realising that a more comprehensive committee was needed to tackle various issues, the government also included the Finance Ministry and the Economic Planning Unit.

Intervention measures

He added that the committee will decide on intervention measures to tackle inflation.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob

According to him, the task force has successfully implemented an intervention measure to resolve the surge in the price of chicken and eggs by providing subsidies.

He said the Communications and Multimedia Ministry is also involved in the task force to ensure information about the government’s decisions and measures reaches the people effectively.

- Bernama