Export curbs on poultry farmers ‘nonsensical’, says economist

 

The government says the export ban on chickens will be lifted on Oct 1.

PETALING JAYA: An economist has hit out at the government’s plan to only allow certain poultry farms to export their products, describing it as “nonsensical”.

Carmelo Ferlito of the Center for Market Education (CME) said the government should not place restrictions on poultry farmers as the market for chickens was dynamic.

“When it comes to chickens, the demand and supply can quickly fluctuate because of shortages, natural disasters, bird flu, increases in costs and so on.

“We might have a situation where Malaysian farmers can fill supply gaps in other countries, so they should not face restrictions as this could mean missed opportunities,” he told FMT.

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On Aug 29, anti-inflation task force chairman Annuar Musa announced that the ban on chicken exports would be lifted in October, but said only certain farms would be allowed to rear chickens meant for export.

This, he said, was to ensure that there was sufficient supply of chickens for the domestic market.

Carmelo Ferlito.

But Ferlito said limiting the number of producers that rear chickens for export would not necessarily guarantee sufficient supply for the domestic market because of various factors.

“If the solution was purely banning exports, then this should have been resolved after June 1 (when exports were banned),” he said.

“But we know this was not the case. Other factors, including costs of feed and ceiling price, affected supply because the farmers were not incentivised to produce more chickens.

“Worse still, it has led to local producers losing out on the lucrative export market in Singapore.”

Singapore is the biggest export market for Malaysian chickens but with the export ban, the republic has sought a supply line from Indonesia.

Ferlito also said such restrictions would discourage investors from venturing into the poultry industry as returns would not be encouraging.

Meanwhile, a poultry farmer who declined to be named welcomed the lifting of the export ban.

“A continued ban on exports could see us (Malaysian farmers) permanently losing the Singapore export market,” he told FMT.

However, he pointed out that not every farm in the country qualified to export chickens as they had to meet the requirements set by the importing country.

The government banned the export of chickens from June 1 in a bid to stem a shortage in the domestic market. - FMT